The Supreme Court has clarified that its previous comments should not be construed as an adverse comment against any High Court judge or judicial officer, in a case involving Odisha courts directing Dalit and Tribal accused to clean police stations as a bail condition.
A division bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stated that if interpreted in this way, it could demoralize judicial officers. The court made this comment while hearing a compliance report filed by the Registrar General of the Odisha High Court.
The Supreme Court took up this matter suo motu after reports emerged that Odisha courts had imposed conditions such as cleaning police stations for two months while granting bail to Dalit and Tribal accused.
According to reports, these orders were issued in cases related to anti-mining protests in Odisha. Eight such orders were passed between May 2025 and January 2026, seven of which were passed by courts in Rayagada district and one by the High Court. In the eight cases, six accused were from the Dalit community and two from the Adivasi community.
On May 4, the Supreme Court expressed strong displeasure over these bail conditions. Calling them “obnoxious,” the court stated that they reflected caste bias in the state judiciary.
The court stated that such derogatory and derogatory conditions, instead of advancing the ends of justice, attack the dignity of the accused and amount to a pre-judgment of guilt, which is completely unacceptable under the law.
Declaring these bail conditions “void and illegal,” the Supreme Court directed all courts in Odisha to immediately revoke such orders. It also directed courts not to re-impose any similar conditions.
The Supreme Court also directed that courts outside Odisha should not impose such “caste-based and oppressive” bail conditions in the future. The court stated that such conditions could create social tension.
To this end, the Supreme Court directed that a copy of its order be sent to all High Courts to inform every judicial officer that such bail conditions should not be imposed under any circumstances.
Praveen Mishra
Courtesy: Hindi News