Lower courts grant bail to 49,750 in 35 days

A total of 49,750 people including 608 children, accused of criminal charges, have secured bail from the lower courts across the country in the last 35 working days.

Among the 608 children who were granted bail, 583 have been handed over to their guardians from three Shishu Unnayan Kendra (children development centres), Supreme Court sources said yesterday.

More than 300 courts have granted bail to the accused after holding virtual hearings of the petitions filed by them.

The subordinate courts have disposed of total 95,523 such petitions.

In five days last week (June 28 to July 2), the courts have disposed of total 10,866 bail petitions and granted bail to total 4,960 accused, the sources said.

Most of the bailed accused have already got released from jail.

The virtual court functions started on May 11 after a gap of 46 days in order to deal with the urgent cases. The regular activities of courts across the country including Appellate and High Court Divisions of the Supreme Court remained closed since March 26 due to ongoing coronavirus outbreak.

On May 10, Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain issued some directives for the courts about dealing with urgent cases through using information and communication technology during the ongoing closure.