Observing that personal liberty cannot be denied on ‘useless technicalities’ and ‘irrelevant errors’, the Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the non-release of an undertrial from Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad jail despite the top court having already passed a bail order.
The bench of Justice KV Viswanathan and Justice NK Singh said that if individuals continued to be kept behind bars despite orders from the Supreme Court, it raised serious concerns about the message being conveyed.
The Superintendent of Ghaziabad Jail appeared in person before the Court, while the UP DIG (Prisons) joined virtually, in compliance with the directions issued by the Court the previous day.
UP’s Additional Advocate General Garima Prasad informed the Court that the release was denied on the grounds that the sub-section under which the accused was booked was not specifically mentioned in the bail order.
Justice Viswanathan emphasized that these were matters concerning personal liberty. He remarked that the authorities need to understand the seriousness of the issue and that the court would not let the matter go.
Justice Vishwanathan questioned how liberty could be denied when the Court had already issued a valid order granting it.
He said that the court did not know how many people might be languishing in jail under similar circumstances.
The bench held that a judicial inquiry was necessary and directed the Principal District Judge of Ghaziabad to conduct it.
The inquiry must examine why the prisoner was not released despite the May 27, 2025, order, and whether the delay was due to the missing sub-section or something more serious.
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