India’s bail crisis: The need to review denials

30/01/2026

Bar & Bench / by Dr Ajay Kummar Pandey

Denying bail carries no institutional risk, while granting it carries significant personal risk.
Our bail system has been turned upside down. Magistrates who grant bail face scrutiny, transfer and whispered allegations of corruption. Those who deny bail – even when the law clearly mandates it – face nothing. Not even a cursory review.
… Meanwhile, three-quarters of India’s prison population consists of people who haven’t been convicted of anything.
Father Stan Swamy was 84 years old and suffering from Parkinson’s disease, when he died in judicial custody in July 2021. He had been waiting for bail for 9 months.
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India’s Bail Crisis: Justice Delayed, Liberty Denied

30/01/2026

Whalesbook / by Ananya Iyer

India’s bail system is critically inverted, with judges fearing repercussions for granting bail, resulting in overcrowded prisons. Approximately 70,000 bail applications annually reach the Supreme Court, while three-quarters of the prison population remains unconvicted. Tragic cases highlight the human cost of prolonged pre-trial detention. This systemic failure, rooted in a broken incentive structure, means incarceration often serves as punishment before conviction, demanding urgent institutional reform.
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Also read:
▪ Incarceration As Politics: A Timeline Of Political Prisoners In Independent India (Outlook / Jan 2026)
▪ Shadows of Judicial Indiscipline: On the Supreme Court’s bail denial to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam (The Leaflet / Jan 2026)
▪ 6 yrs, no charges framed – Surendra Gadling stuck in trial limbo in 2016 Surajgarh arson case (The Print / Sep 2025)
▪ In Surendra Gadling’s case, adjournment becomes the verdict (Frontline / Aug 2025)
▪ How Long is Too Long? – On the Maximum Period that an Undertrial Prisoner can be Detained (Constitutional Law and Philosophy | by Hany Babu and Surendra Gadling | Oct 2024)
▪ Inconsistencies in Bail Orders Mean Individual Liberty Is the Outcome of Judicial Lottery (The Wire / Oct 2022)