Courts mustn't hesitate in refusing liberty for corruption-free society: SC

The top court said the accused was alleged to have demanded illegal gratification over an audit in the development work in a gram panchayat

The Supreme Court has said courts should not hesitate in denying liberty to the accused for ensuring a corruption free society.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and R Mahadevan accordingly upheld the dismissal of a public official's anticipatory bail in a corruption case. The court lamented corruption had in it "very dangerous potentialities".

Further, it opined an "over solicitous homage to the accused's liberty can, sometimes, defeat the cause of public justice".

The top court was hearing the plea of a public servant against an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court denying him the relief.

The high court rejected his anticipatory bail in a case filed against him in Patiala under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.