Supreme Court said judges should not order accused persons to surrender their right to be politically active in return for bail.
In a recent order, a three-judge bench led by Justice BR Gavai said that forcing a person to stay away from politics by making his bail conditional is a clear violation of fundamental rights.
This was made clear by the apex court in a petition filed by a former mayor of Berhampur Municipal Corporation.
In 2022, Siba Shankar Das was granted bail in a criminal case.
According to one of the grounds established by the Orissa High Court was that he should not “create any unpleasant situation in public or indulge in any political activities directly or indirectly”.
In early 2024, the High Court was approached by Mr Das to modify this bail condition, saying he wanted to participate in political activities ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
In January, the High Court rejected his petition. Subsequently, he moved to the apex court.
The Supreme Court said imposing such a condition would violate the fundamental rights of the appellant and no such condition could have been imposed.
Therefore, quash and set aside the condition imposed by the High Court.
