Bail is the rule and jail is the exception, the Supreme Court has consistently held, and a top court bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Alok Aradhe reiterated this principle. The right to a speedy trial enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution cannot be eclipsed by the nature of the offence, the bench maintained while granting bail to former Amtek Group chairman Arvind Dham, who has been in jail for 16 months in a money laundering case.

Prolonged incarceration amounts to punishment

The court said prolonged jail without a trial beginning has the effect of turning pre-trial detention into punishment. The Supreme Court order came a day after a bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N.V. Anjaria denied bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who have........

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