The Law Commission has done well to recommend a complete overhaul in the way courts grant bail. Bail must be the rule rather than the exception, given that every person charged with a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Reform in bail jurisprudence that includes fast disposal of bail applications, easier surety requirements and minimising pretrial detention is overdue.
Inconsistency in the bail system is one of the main reasons for crowding of prisons — it is appalling that 67 per cent of the prison population is awaiting trial in India. Rightly, the Supreme Court has frowned upon the mechanical attitude towards detention.