SC: Jail officers should access faster cells for quick execution of bail orders, apex court gave instructions

The Supreme Court has issued several directions to jail authorities to access the orders through 'Faster Cell' for speedy compliance with its bail orders. The top court gave these instructions given the jail authorities' non-implementation of bail orders.

To prevent delays in the execution of court orders, then Chief Justice NV Ramana introduced the Fast and Secure Transmission of Electronic Records (FASTER) software in March 2022. The jail administration must carry out the numerous bail orders that this court has issued, according to a bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan. The jail administration is required by law to follow the court's orders and make sure the accused is brought before the relevant court as directed by this court.

The order was made by the top court in response to a miscellaneous application filed by lawyer Smrhar Singh, alleging that petitioner Laxman Ram was not released from jail on February 5th, even though he had been granted bail in a criminal case. Laxman Ram was to appear before the trial court in seven days, as instructed by the top court.

Laxman Ram was released from custody, nevertheless, before the supreme court agreed to hear the application on February 16. The bench stated on February 16 that although the individual in question was freed, the matter of the delay in presenting the accused to the trial court must be taken into account.

The bench, in its final order passed on March 4, said that for effective communication of bail orders, the court has framed a protocol called 'Faster Sale' and standard operating procedure (SOP) has also been prescribed for its implementation. We direct the Jail Superintendents of various jails across the country to ensure that e-mails are accessed twice a day (in the morning as well as during the program) as per SOP. The jail authorities should take action by producing the accused before the concerned courts keeping the orders in mind.

The bench said that the most relevant part of the 'FASTER' scheme is that all orders granting bail are sent through e-mail to the concerned authorities such as nodal officers of states and union territories, district courts and jail superintendents. This court order granting bail has a digital signature and a QR code. SMS is generated immediately after the order is placed on the system through Faster Sale. The bench said that if there is any doubt about the genuineness of the orders uploaded through 'Faster Cell', the jail authorities can always refer to the apex court website for verification.