ANIRUDDHA BOSE, J. - (1.) Leave Granted
(2.) These two petitions for Special Leave to Appeal, now appeals on grant of leave, have been listed as connected matters and heard by us as such. A learned Single Judge of the Rajasthan High Court in an order passed on 31st March, 2020, from which SLP (Crl.) No. 5618 of 2021 originated, had directed the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court to not to list bails, appeals, applications for suspension of sentence in appeals and revisions in the category of extreme urgent matters. We shall henceforth refer to that application (S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Second Bail Application No. 17767 of 2019) filed in the High Court as the first bail application. The same learned Judge, in the other order, passed on 17th May 2021 giving rise to SLP (Crl.) No. 3949 of 2021, had directed the police authorities not to make arrest of persons in cases where the accused is charged under an offence carrying maximum sentence of three years and the offence is triable by a First Class Magistrate. In this order also, direction had been given to the High Court administration not to list bail applications under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (the 1973 Code) in offences where maximum sentence extends upto three years and the offence which is triable by a First Class Magistrate. When these orders were passed, the Covid-19 pandemic was raging across this country. This order was passed in an application for anticipatory bail, registered as S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 3125 of 2021 (the second bail application). We, however, find that the bail plea of the applicant was ultimately rejected by the High Court on 20th May, 2020 in the first bail application. The second bail application, which was for anticipatory bail, was also rejected by the High Court on 2nd August, 2021.
(3.) By an interim order passed by this Court on 25th May, 2021 in appeal brought by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur there was interim stay of the directions issued in Paragraphs 9, 10 and 11 of the impugned order dated 17th May, 2021. The directions contained in paragraphs 15 and 16 in the order passed on 31st March, 2020 was also stayed by an interim order passed by this Court on 3rd April, 2020. The order passed by the High Court in the first bail application was to last till withdrawal of the order of complete lockdown by the Government of India. The order in the second bail application was to last till 17th July, 2021.;