Dutt gets e-bail but will spend another night in jail

BAIL ON E-MAIL: Supreme Court move gives hope to many convicts languishing in jails.

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Mumbai/New Delhi: In an unprecedented move, Supreme Court has sent a copy of actor Sanjay Dutt’s bail order via e-mail and fax, so that this time around snail mail does not cost Dutt extra days in jail.

Members of the legal fraternity see this as a welcome step.

“In this age of technology, e-mail is best method. But one will have to be careful that no false mails are sent,” says lawyer Kamini Jaiswal.

However, critics feel this is yet another case of some being more equal than others.

“Persuasion of getting the order was faster than reversal. He has got bail through e-mail only because he is a celebrity,” says lawyer Majid Memon.

Under normal legal procedure, a judgement copy has to be delivered to a convict almost immediately after the judgement is passed so as to enable the convict to appeal to a higher court.

But clearly, that is not the case for thousands of convicts across the state who are still waiting for their fair chance to appeal to a higher court. In this case Dutt has been the lucky one and by way of him, many others.

It is these nameless convicts who stand to benefit from the actions of the apex court. Thousands of prisoners languish behind bars because copies of their bail documents or release orders do not reach concerned authorities in time.

As for Dutt, the irony remains that in spite of his bail order coming quickly, he may still have to spend the night in jail as the hard copy of his release order from the TADA Court still hasn't reached the Yerawada Jail authorities.

(With inputs from Arunima)