Daijiworld Media Network - Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Jul 23: Atul Rao, accused in the case of unnatural death of Udupi MLA's wife Padmapriya, was denied bail by Udupi district court recently. High Court retired judge Justice M F Saldanha, speaking to a city daily, opined that the reasons given for rejecting the bail application are not tenable in law.
The court has observed that Atul faces threat to his life if released on bail. Rejecting bail on this ground does not stand the test of legal scrutiny. If the applicant actually faced such a threat, the judge could have ordered for providing him security even after his release, Justice Saldanha opined.
"I am hurt by this decision of the judge. This step clearly mirrors the failure of the government in protecting the lives and properties of its citizens and its inability to uphold the rule of law. From my experience as a criminal lawyer for 32 years and High Court Judge for 14 years, I can confirm that there is no provision to deny bail for the reason that an accused is facing threat to his life," he clarified.
The rejection of bail signifies that the government has failed to protect the lives and properties of its subjects even in the constituency of the state home minister. Guideline laid out in law either for upholding of a bail application or rejecting it, are very clear. The fact that the Udupi district judge rejected the bail application for reasons which are not legally acceptable, gives rise to doubts as to whether he was under any sort of pressure. From the point of view of public interest, these points become relevant. "At this point, I will confine myself to this short observation. The action of the judge in this case is such that it might result in the erosion of faith the citizens have on the judiciary. It may be noted that the Supreme Court too has made strong observations against the judges who pass such orders," Saldanha said.