- Research/Scholar Paper name – “An Analysis of the Legal Inconsistencies of Section 437A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973”
- Author: Ishaan Kulshrestha
- Institution: Jindal Global Law School
- Affiliation: Centre for Study of Contemporary Legal Issues
- Date of Publication: 29/12/2021
Abstract:
India’s prison system, for a long, has been faced with severe congestion of inmates who are not convicts. Among several other things, this fact is evidence of the flaws of India’s criminal justice machinery and its rabid tendency to unjustly infringe upon personal liberty. Section 437A of the Code of Criminal Procedure, inserted into the Code in 2009 to govern the bail for acquitted individuals, is a prime instance of this tendency of the Indian criminal system. This paper examines the provision, its origin and intent, and it’s conformity with the principles of criminal procedure and the Constitution of India. The paper finds that the provision is against the principles contained within the CrPC and is unconstitutional as it curtails the rights guaranteed by the law to a free citizen. After studying valid options for addressing the legal inconsistencies of Section 437A, the paper suggests that striking down the provision is the most suitable.