Supreme Court of Pakistan: Observing upon the state of affairs in the lower courts, the Supreme Court lamented upon the fact that the practice of writing lengthy bail orders by the judges eat up the precious time of the courts which could have been utilized in deciding the large number of pending cases. The Court sharply criticized the Judge-in-Chamber of Lahore High Court for dispensing the bail plea of the petitioner in a lengthy twelve page order, which in the opinion of the Court could have been easily dispensed in a short order. Terming this practice as archaic, the Court observed that the time has come for breaking away from the attitudes and approaches of the past and start judicial re-positioning with decisions of applications for bail as it is merely an interim order and should not be equated with a judgment.
Therefore, the Court laid down a shorter format for deciding an application for bail
• The order should briefly state the allegations against the accused-petitioner, with no details and particulars of the FIR.
• There is no necessity to state the arguments raised by the counsels for the parties. It shall be presumed that the arguments and submissions have been addressed. In case of necessity for a look, then the attached bail application can be referred to.
• The order should briefly and clearly state the reasons for grant or refusal of bail.
• The order should state the terms of bail, if applicable Muhammad Shakeel v. The State, Criminal Petition No. 203-L of 2014, decided on March 20, 2014
For the text of the judgment, click here
