{"id":5,"date":"2022-02-18T07:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T07:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/?p=5"},"modified":"2022-02-22T07:34:45","modified_gmt":"2022-02-22T07:34:45","slug":"introduction","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/chapter\/introduction\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction"},"content":{"raw":"<strong>1.1 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nUnder-trial prisoners constitute a staggering two thirds of India\u2019s prison population.[footnote]\u2018Prison Statistics 2016\u2019 (National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, India) &lt;http:\/\/ncrb.nic.in\/&gt; accessed 20 September 2019[\/footnote]\r\n\r\nThe gravity of this situation has not escaped the attention of the Supreme Court of India, which has been concerned with the detention of under-trial prisoners since the late 1970s.[footnote]At present, the Supreme Court is monitoring the conditions of prisons in India through a suo moto public interest litigation in Re Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, Writ Petition No. 406 of 2013.[\/footnote] Three issues form the core of the Court\u2019s concern. First, whether lower courts have unnecessarily detained under-trials who should have been released on bail. Second, whether the conditions of detention in Indian prisons are unsafe and inhuman. Third, whether under-trial detention has led to further criminalization of under-trials and recidivism. However, despite the frequent intervention of higher courts, undertrial detention rates have remained at 70% and is a pressing and urgent problem that deserves our collective attention.\r\n\r\n<strong>Why are under-trial detention levels high? <\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>1.2 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nIn its 268th Report, the Law Commission of India echoed the Supreme Court\u2019s concerns. It stressed that urgent measures need to be taken to curtail the length of detention, and concluded that the law relating to bail must be revisited to prevent this.[footnote]Law Commission of India, Amendments to Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 \u2013 Provisions Relating to Bail (268th Report, May 2017).[\/footnote] In arriving at this conclusion, much of the report focused on a doctrinal analysis of bail provisions and relevant Supreme Court decisions, and devoted only a small section to the disproportionate burden placed by monetary bail system on detainees from marginalised socio-economic backgrounds. Further, limited attention was paid to long periods of undertrial incarceration as a direct consequence of the bail decision making process by courts.\r\n\r\n<strong>1.3 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nCivil society organisations that have studied the problem of under-trial detention in India have also traditionally focused on the conditions of detention. Detailed studies of prisons across all Indian states conducted by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative have revealed that there is poor monitoring and inspection of prisons,[footnote]\u2018Looking Into the Haze: A Study on Prison Monitoring in India\u2019 (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2016) &lt; https:\/\/ humanrightsinitiative.org\/publication\/looking-into-the-haze-astudy-on-prison-monitoring-in-india-2016&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.[\/footnote] and patchy compliance with the Supreme Court\u2019s directions on establishing Under-Trial Review Committees which facilitate periodic review of detention levels and the availability of legal representation for under-trial prisoners.[footnote]\u2018Circle of Justice: A National Report on Under Trial Review Committees\u2019 (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2016) &lt; https:\/\/www.humanrightsinitiative.org\/publication\/circle-of-justicea-national-report-on-under-trial-review-committees&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\n<strong>1.4 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nA 2017 report released by Amnesty International marshalled information gathered on the level of under-trial detention across Indian prisons through requests under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The report demonstrated the failure of institutional mechanisms designed to protect under-trial prisoners and supervise jails in India.[footnote]\u2018Justice Under Trial: A Study of Pre-trial Detention in India\u2019 (Amnesty International India, 2017) &lt; https:\/\/amnesty.org.in\/justice-trial-studypre-trial-detention-india\/&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.[\/footnote] It found that despite the average occupancy rate in Indian prisons reaching 114%,[footnote]It has touched 233.9% in certain states.[\/footnote] very few prisons have identified under-trial prisoners who are eligible to be released on their personal bond i.e. under-trial prisoners who have spent more than half of the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for the offence of which they have been accused.[footnote]Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, s 436A[\/footnote] It also presented data on the shortage of police escorts to produce undertrial prisoners in court and the failure of legal aid lawyers to visit prisons regularly, which effectively prolongs their period of detention.[footnote]\u2018Justice Under Trial: A Study of Pre-trial Detention in India\u2019 (Amnesty International India, 2017) 23 &lt;https:\/\/amnesty.org.in\/justice-trialstudy-pre-trial-detention-india\/&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.[\/footnote]\r\n\r\n<strong>1.5 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe reports of the Law Commission and other civil society organisations underscores the pressure exerted by a large number of pre-trial detainees on an already over-stretched system.\r\n\r\nWith several jails[footnote]In the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.[\/footnote]\u00a0running at 150% capacity,[footnote]Re - Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, (2016) 10 SCC 17[\/footnote]\u00a0excessive prison populations also raise concerns of hygiene and discipline. Further, the demographics of those likely to be incarcerated is also relevant as 70.6% of under-trial prisoners in India as of date are illiterate or semi-literate.\r\n\r\n<strong>This shows that the economically vulnerable, the illiterate or semiliterate,[footnote]\u2018Prison Statistics 2015\u2019 (National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, India) &lt;http:\/\/ncrb.nic.in\/&gt; accessed 18 April 2019.[\/footnote]\u00a0and persons from socioreligious minority communities are more likely to end up in Indian prisons.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>1.6<\/strong>\r\n\r\nHowever, these reports tell us little about the reasons for the high levels of under-trial detention in India \u2013 what brings so many individuals into the prison system? Legal Analysis of Bail Decision Making\r\n\r\n<strong>1.7 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nThe primary situs of decisions on bail and detention of under-trial prisoners is the trial court, yet it has been neglected thus far. Standard legal commentary[footnote]Sarkar, Commentary on the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2007); P. Venkatesh, Law of Bails (2008); R.V. Kelkar, Criminal Law and Procedure, Vol. XIV Annual Survey of Indian Law, 185 (1978).[\/footnote]\u00a0on bail in India only engages in a legal and doctrinal analysis of the statute and related court decisions,[footnote]Vrinda Bhandari, \u2018Inconsistent And Unclear: The Supreme Court Of India On Bail\u2019 (2013) 6 NUJS L. Rev. 549; Vrinda Bhandari, \u2018Pretrial Detention in India: An Examination of the Causes and Possible Solutions\u2019 (2016) Asian Criminology 11:83\u2013110.[\/footnote]\u00a0such as on the constitutional right to legal aid. For instance, while we can agree that bail in the pre-trial stage should impose the least restrictive conditions to ensure appearance in court,[footnote]\u2018Administration of Pre-trial Release and Detention: A Proposal for Unification\u2019 (1973) Yale Law Journal, Vol. 83(1), 153.[\/footnote]\u00a0academic literature on bail and under-trial detention in India do not provide any normative view on the process of bail decision making by courts.\r\n\r\n<strong>1.8 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nAcademic criminology research on the relationship between bail and under-trial detention is also scarce. Available research on under-trial detention has primarily relied on data collected from police stations and prisons, collated and released by the National Crime Records Bureau. These studies have approached the issue from the perspective of institutional failure of the prison system and legal aid, and the burdens placed by a cash bail system on indigent defendants. As a result, suggested interventions in this field also focus on the conditions of detention, access to legal aid, compliance with Supreme Court orders, placing fetters on an over-broad exercise of arrest powers, and strengthening institutional infrastructure and resource allocation. Court Based Bail Decision Making: A Study\r\n\r\n<strong>1.9 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nCivil society interventions, legal policy reform efforts and academic literature, therefore, have not focused on the process of bail decision making by lower criminal courts in India and its influence on the levels of detention, unlike in the United States.[footnote]\u2018Incarceration\u2019s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America\u2019 (Vera Institute of Justice, 2015).[\/footnote]\u00a0This study attempts to bridge this weakness in studies on under-trial detention, by focusing on the site of decision making on bail and detention \u2013 the lower criminal courts \u2013 rather than on the site of detention (prisons). In this study, we focus on the State of Karnataka.\r\n\r\n<strong>1.10 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nWe adopt two distinct approaches to analysing bail decision making, which is motivated by the need to understand how lower courts routinely interpret and apply the law on bail in real cases \u2013 first, through in-person court observations of first productions, which is the first time an accused is produced before the trial court within 24 hours of being arrested and second, by studying court records over a period of 6 months to analyse bail decisions in the pre-trial stage (before a charge sheet is filed). We seek to identify the factors relevant to a decision on bail or detention upon production of an accused as well as the frequency of and conditions under which bail is granted. Thus, lower criminal courts were chosen as the primary centres for observation and collection of data on production of under-trial prisoners, to identify both substantive and procedural factors that drive bail decisions. Ascertaining the rationale employed, if any, in a decision to grant or refuse bail or the factors driving a such a decision will consequently help in identifying the areas for reform to control the current levels of under-trial detention.\r\n\r\n<strong>1.11 <\/strong>\r\n\r\nThis report is organized into seven Chapters. In Chapter II, we describe the methodology for our study and data collection in greater detail, including our choice of sites and the mixed-method approach to the study. In Chapter III, we define the scope and extent of the problem of under-trial detention in India, and survey data on crime, arrest and undertrial statistics in the State of Karnataka. In Chapter IV, we introduce the important analytical distinction between pre-trial and under-trial detention.[footnote]\u2018CHRI\u2019s recommendations to the National Crime Records Bureau\u2019s Annual Report \u2013 Prison Statistics of India (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2017) &lt;http:\/\/www.humanrightsinitiative.org\/ download\/1498107712CHRI%20Submission%20to%20NCRB%20 on%20Prison%20Statistics%20India.pdf&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.[\/footnote]\u00a0We explore the various stages in the criminal trial where bail may be granted and the factors the shape a bail decision, which is informed by contemporary law and policy debates on bail reform in the US and the UK. In Chapters V and VI, we review the data on bail outcomes in Karnataka at first production and in the pre-trial stage. In particular, we assess the extent of influence of various substantive and procedural factors, such as the nature of the offence, availability of legal representation, and interaction with the court. In Chapter VII, we conclude by assessing key findings of this study and make recommendations on streamlining the bail decision making process to control the level of under-trial detention in India.\r\n\r\n<strong>1.12 <\/strong>\r\n\r\n<strong>The objective of this study is to shift attention from conditions of detention to court based bail decision making to understand and explain the levels of under-trial detention in India. It proposes a range of new policy approaches to under-trial detention that address issues of legal arbitrariness and social justice, which must motivate and sustain legal reform efforts in this field.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n<hr \/>\r\n\r\n<strong>References<\/strong>","rendered":"<p><strong>1.1 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Under-trial prisoners constitute a staggering two thirds of India\u2019s prison population.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018Prison Statistics 2016\u2019 (National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, India) &lt;http:\/\/ncrb.nic.in\/&gt; accessed 20 September 2019\" id=\"return-footnote-5-1\" href=\"#footnote-5-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The gravity of this situation has not escaped the attention of the Supreme Court of India, which has been concerned with the detention of under-trial prisoners since the late 1970s.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"At present, the Supreme Court is monitoring the conditions of prisons in India through a suo moto public interest litigation in Re Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, Writ Petition No. 406 of 2013.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-2\" href=\"#footnote-5-2\" aria-label=\"Footnote 2\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[2]<\/sup><\/a> Three issues form the core of the Court\u2019s concern. First, whether lower courts have unnecessarily detained under-trials who should have been released on bail. Second, whether the conditions of detention in Indian prisons are unsafe and inhuman. Third, whether under-trial detention has led to further criminalization of under-trials and recidivism. However, despite the frequent intervention of higher courts, undertrial detention rates have remained at 70% and is a pressing and urgent problem that deserves our collective attention.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why are under-trial detention levels high? <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1.2 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In its 268th Report, the Law Commission of India echoed the Supreme Court\u2019s concerns. It stressed that urgent measures need to be taken to curtail the length of detention, and concluded that the law relating to bail must be revisited to prevent this.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Law Commission of India, Amendments to Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 \u2013 Provisions Relating to Bail (268th Report, May 2017).\" id=\"return-footnote-5-3\" href=\"#footnote-5-3\" aria-label=\"Footnote 3\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[3]<\/sup><\/a> In arriving at this conclusion, much of the report focused on a doctrinal analysis of bail provisions and relevant Supreme Court decisions, and devoted only a small section to the disproportionate burden placed by monetary bail system on detainees from marginalised socio-economic backgrounds. Further, limited attention was paid to long periods of undertrial incarceration as a direct consequence of the bail decision making process by courts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.3 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Civil society organisations that have studied the problem of under-trial detention in India have also traditionally focused on the conditions of detention. Detailed studies of prisons across all Indian states conducted by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative have revealed that there is poor monitoring and inspection of prisons,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018Looking Into the Haze: A Study on Prison Monitoring in India\u2019 (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2016) &lt; https:\/\/ humanrightsinitiative.org\/publication\/looking-into-the-haze-astudy-on-prison-monitoring-in-india-2016&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-4\" href=\"#footnote-5-4\" aria-label=\"Footnote 4\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[4]<\/sup><\/a> and patchy compliance with the Supreme Court\u2019s directions on establishing Under-Trial Review Committees which facilitate periodic review of detention levels and the availability of legal representation for under-trial prisoners.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018Circle of Justice: A National Report on Under Trial Review Committees\u2019 (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2016) &lt; https:\/\/www.humanrightsinitiative.org\/publication\/circle-of-justicea-national-report-on-under-trial-review-committees&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-5\" href=\"#footnote-5-5\" aria-label=\"Footnote 5\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[5]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>1.4 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A 2017 report released by Amnesty International marshalled information gathered on the level of under-trial detention across Indian prisons through requests under the Right to Information Act, 2005. The report demonstrated the failure of institutional mechanisms designed to protect under-trial prisoners and supervise jails in India.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018Justice Under Trial: A Study of Pre-trial Detention in India\u2019 (Amnesty International India, 2017) &lt; https:\/\/amnesty.org.in\/justice-trial-studypre-trial-detention-india\/&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-6\" href=\"#footnote-5-6\" aria-label=\"Footnote 6\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[6]<\/sup><\/a> It found that despite the average occupancy rate in Indian prisons reaching 114%,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"It has touched 233.9% in certain states.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-7\" href=\"#footnote-5-7\" aria-label=\"Footnote 7\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[7]<\/sup><\/a> very few prisons have identified under-trial prisoners who are eligible to be released on their personal bond i.e. under-trial prisoners who have spent more than half of the maximum period of imprisonment prescribed for the offence of which they have been accused.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, s 436A\" id=\"return-footnote-5-8\" href=\"#footnote-5-8\" aria-label=\"Footnote 8\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[8]<\/sup><\/a> It also presented data on the shortage of police escorts to produce undertrial prisoners in court and the failure of legal aid lawyers to visit prisons regularly, which effectively prolongs their period of detention.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018Justice Under Trial: A Study of Pre-trial Detention in India\u2019 (Amnesty International India, 2017) 23 &lt;https:\/\/amnesty.org.in\/justice-trialstudy-pre-trial-detention-india\/&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-9\" href=\"#footnote-5-9\" aria-label=\"Footnote 9\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[9]<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>1.5 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The reports of the Law Commission and other civil society organisations underscores the pressure exerted by a large number of pre-trial detainees on an already over-stretched system.<\/p>\n<p>With several jails<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"In the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-10\" href=\"#footnote-5-10\" aria-label=\"Footnote 10\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[10]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0running at 150% capacity,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Re - Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, (2016) 10 SCC 17\" id=\"return-footnote-5-11\" href=\"#footnote-5-11\" aria-label=\"Footnote 11\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[11]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0excessive prison populations also raise concerns of hygiene and discipline. Further, the demographics of those likely to be incarcerated is also relevant as 70.6% of under-trial prisoners in India as of date are illiterate or semi-literate.<\/p>\n<p><strong>This shows that the economically vulnerable, the illiterate or semiliterate,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018Prison Statistics 2015\u2019 (National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, India) &lt;http:\/\/ncrb.nic.in\/&gt; accessed 18 April 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-12\" href=\"#footnote-5-12\" aria-label=\"Footnote 12\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[12]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0and persons from socioreligious minority communities are more likely to end up in Indian prisons.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>1.6<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>However, these reports tell us little about the reasons for the high levels of under-trial detention in India \u2013 what brings so many individuals into the prison system? Legal Analysis of Bail Decision Making<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.7 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The primary situs of decisions on bail and detention of under-trial prisoners is the trial court, yet it has been neglected thus far. Standard legal commentary<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Sarkar, Commentary on the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2007); P. Venkatesh, Law of Bails (2008); R.V. Kelkar, Criminal Law and Procedure, Vol. XIV Annual Survey of Indian Law, 185 (1978).\" id=\"return-footnote-5-13\" href=\"#footnote-5-13\" aria-label=\"Footnote 13\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[13]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0on bail in India only engages in a legal and doctrinal analysis of the statute and related court decisions,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Vrinda Bhandari, \u2018Inconsistent And Unclear: The Supreme Court Of India On Bail\u2019 (2013) 6 NUJS L. Rev. 549; Vrinda Bhandari, \u2018Pretrial Detention in India: An Examination of the Causes and Possible Solutions\u2019 (2016) Asian Criminology 11:83\u2013110.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-14\" href=\"#footnote-5-14\" aria-label=\"Footnote 14\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[14]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0such as on the constitutional right to legal aid. For instance, while we can agree that bail in the pre-trial stage should impose the least restrictive conditions to ensure appearance in court,<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018Administration of Pre-trial Release and Detention: A Proposal for Unification\u2019 (1973) Yale Law Journal, Vol. 83(1), 153.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-15\" href=\"#footnote-5-15\" aria-label=\"Footnote 15\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[15]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0academic literature on bail and under-trial detention in India do not provide any normative view on the process of bail decision making by courts.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.8 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Academic criminology research on the relationship between bail and under-trial detention is also scarce. Available research on under-trial detention has primarily relied on data collected from police stations and prisons, collated and released by the National Crime Records Bureau. These studies have approached the issue from the perspective of institutional failure of the prison system and legal aid, and the burdens placed by a cash bail system on indigent defendants. As a result, suggested interventions in this field also focus on the conditions of detention, access to legal aid, compliance with Supreme Court orders, placing fetters on an over-broad exercise of arrest powers, and strengthening institutional infrastructure and resource allocation. Court Based Bail Decision Making: A Study<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.9 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Civil society interventions, legal policy reform efforts and academic literature, therefore, have not focused on the process of bail decision making by lower criminal courts in India and its influence on the levels of detention, unlike in the United States.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018Incarceration\u2019s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America\u2019 (Vera Institute of Justice, 2015).\" id=\"return-footnote-5-16\" href=\"#footnote-5-16\" aria-label=\"Footnote 16\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[16]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0This study attempts to bridge this weakness in studies on under-trial detention, by focusing on the site of decision making on bail and detention \u2013 the lower criminal courts \u2013 rather than on the site of detention (prisons). In this study, we focus on the State of Karnataka.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.10 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We adopt two distinct approaches to analysing bail decision making, which is motivated by the need to understand how lower courts routinely interpret and apply the law on bail in real cases \u2013 first, through in-person court observations of first productions, which is the first time an accused is produced before the trial court within 24 hours of being arrested and second, by studying court records over a period of 6 months to analyse bail decisions in the pre-trial stage (before a charge sheet is filed). We seek to identify the factors relevant to a decision on bail or detention upon production of an accused as well as the frequency of and conditions under which bail is granted. Thus, lower criminal courts were chosen as the primary centres for observation and collection of data on production of under-trial prisoners, to identify both substantive and procedural factors that drive bail decisions. Ascertaining the rationale employed, if any, in a decision to grant or refuse bail or the factors driving a such a decision will consequently help in identifying the areas for reform to control the current levels of under-trial detention.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.11 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This report is organized into seven Chapters. In Chapter II, we describe the methodology for our study and data collection in greater detail, including our choice of sites and the mixed-method approach to the study. In Chapter III, we define the scope and extent of the problem of under-trial detention in India, and survey data on crime, arrest and undertrial statistics in the State of Karnataka. In Chapter IV, we introduce the important analytical distinction between pre-trial and under-trial detention.<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"\u2018CHRI\u2019s recommendations to the National Crime Records Bureau\u2019s Annual Report \u2013 Prison Statistics of India (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2017) &lt;http:\/\/www.humanrightsinitiative.org\/ download\/1498107712CHRI%20Submission%20to%20NCRB%20 on%20Prison%20Statistics%20India.pdf&gt; accessed 23 November 2019.\" id=\"return-footnote-5-17\" href=\"#footnote-5-17\" aria-label=\"Footnote 17\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[17]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0We explore the various stages in the criminal trial where bail may be granted and the factors the shape a bail decision, which is informed by contemporary law and policy debates on bail reform in the US and the UK. In Chapters V and VI, we review the data on bail outcomes in Karnataka at first production and in the pre-trial stage. In particular, we assess the extent of influence of various substantive and procedural factors, such as the nature of the offence, availability of legal representation, and interaction with the court. In Chapter VII, we conclude by assessing key findings of this study and make recommendations on streamlining the bail decision making process to control the level of under-trial detention in India.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.12 <\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>The objective of this study is to shift attention from conditions of detention to court based bail decision making to understand and explain the levels of under-trial detention in India. It proposes a range of new policy approaches to under-trial detention that address issues of legal arbitrariness and social justice, which must motivate and sustain legal reform efforts in this field.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>References<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-5-1\">\u2018Prison Statistics 2016\u2019 (National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, India) &lt;http:\/\/ncrb.nic.in\/&gt; accessed 20 September 2019 <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-2\">At present, the Supreme Court is monitoring the conditions of prisons in India through a suo moto public interest litigation in Re Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, Writ Petition No. 406 of 2013. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-2\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 2\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-3\">Law Commission of India, Amendments to Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 \u2013 Provisions Relating to Bail (268th Report, May 2017). <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-3\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 3\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-4\">\u2018Looking Into the Haze: A Study on Prison Monitoring in India\u2019 (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2016) &lt; https:\/\/ humanrightsinitiative.org\/publication\/looking-into-the-haze-astudy-on-prison-monitoring-in-india-2016&gt; accessed 23 November 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-4\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 4\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-5\">\u2018Circle of Justice: A National Report on Under Trial Review Committees\u2019 (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2016) &lt; https:\/\/www.humanrightsinitiative.org\/publication\/circle-of-justicea-national-report-on-under-trial-review-committees&gt; accessed 23 November 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-5\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 5\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-6\">\u2018Justice Under Trial: A Study of Pre-trial Detention in India\u2019 (Amnesty International India, 2017) &lt; https:\/\/amnesty.org.in\/justice-trial-studypre-trial-detention-india\/&gt; accessed 23 November 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-6\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 6\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-7\">It has touched 233.9% in certain states. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-7\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 7\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-8\">Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, s 436A <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-8\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 8\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-9\">\u2018Justice Under Trial: A Study of Pre-trial Detention in India\u2019 (Amnesty International India, 2017) 23 &lt;https:\/\/amnesty.org.in\/justice-trialstudy-pre-trial-detention-india\/&gt; accessed 23 November 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-9\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 9\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-10\">In the states of Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-10\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 10\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-11\">Re - Inhuman Conditions in 1382 Prisons, (2016) 10 SCC 17 <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-11\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 11\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-12\">\u2018Prison Statistics 2015\u2019 (National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, India) &lt;http:\/\/ncrb.nic.in\/&gt; accessed 18 April 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-12\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 12\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-13\">Sarkar, Commentary on the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2007); P. Venkatesh, Law of Bails (2008); R.V. Kelkar, Criminal Law and Procedure, Vol. XIV Annual Survey of Indian Law, 185 (1978). <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-13\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 13\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-14\">Vrinda Bhandari, \u2018Inconsistent And Unclear: The Supreme Court Of India On Bail\u2019 (2013) 6 NUJS L. Rev. 549; Vrinda Bhandari, \u2018Pretrial Detention in India: An Examination of the Causes and Possible Solutions\u2019 (2016) Asian Criminology 11:83\u2013110. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-14\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 14\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-15\">\u2018Administration of Pre-trial Release and Detention: A Proposal for Unification\u2019 (1973) Yale Law Journal, Vol. 83(1), 153. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-15\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 15\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-16\">\u2018Incarceration\u2019s Front Door: The Misuse of Jails in America\u2019 (Vera Institute of Justice, 2015). <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-16\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 16\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><li id=\"footnote-5-17\">\u2018CHRI\u2019s recommendations to the National Crime Records Bureau\u2019s Annual Report \u2013 Prison Statistics of India (Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, 2017) &lt;http:\/\/www.humanrightsinitiative.org\/ download\/1498107712CHRI%20Submission%20to%20NCRB%20 on%20Prison%20Statistics%20India.pdf&gt; accessed 23 November 2019. <a href=\"#return-footnote-5-17\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 17\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":2,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[48],"contributor":[],"license":[],"part":3,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/5"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":236,"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/5\/revisions\/236"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/3"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/5\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=5"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=5"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/publications.clpr.org.in\/re-imagining-bail-decision-making\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}