SC's wake-up call with bail law

The abolition of grant of bail without hearing govt's position, and requirement to satisfy court that accused is not guilty, has become so rampant that it has now found place even in basic company law

The recent judgment of the Supreme Court striking down as unconstitutional, the provisions on bail contained in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, (PMLA) is a long-overdue wake-up call. The law mandated two conditions for grant of bail — first, the public prosecutor must be given a chance to oppose the request for grant of bail; and second, the court must be satisfied that the accused is not guilty and is unlikely to commit another offence when on bail.
 
Now, this unconstitutional provision has in the past been upheld as constitutional in dreaded “anti-terror” laws such as Terrorist