The Supreme Court of India has reaffirmed that an undertrial's presumption of innocence does not vanish just because the alleged offence is serious or a strict law applies. A Bench led by Justice J.K. Maheshwari criticized law enforcement agencies for trying to keep undertrials in jail longer simply to "give him a taste of imprisonment as a lesson." The court stressed that everyone applying for bail is presumed innocent, a core legal principle that remains even under heavy charges or grave laws. The order said, "Pre-trial incarceration cannot be allowed to degenerate into punishment without adjudication, and courts are constitutionally obliged to intervene where long custody becomes disproportionate, arbitrary or excessive." It added that "bail is the rule and jail is an exception," a rule meant to prevent undertrials from being jailed indefinitely unless there is a real threat to society, risk of witness tampering, or flight risk. The court explained that bail is a qualified right before conviction. The prosecution must prove why the accused should not be granted bail. Any departure from this principle is constitutionally questionable. The judgment referred to previous rulings that when a speedy trial isn't possible and the accused has spent a long time in jail, courts should normally grant bail. This order was part of granting bail to Kapil Wadhawan, MD of Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL), and his brother Dheeraj Wadhawan. They face a ₹34,000-crore bank fraud case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation, based on a complaint by Union Bank of India. Bail terms include getting High Court permission before traveling abroad. The Court noted the case’s complexity with 736 witnesses, 110 accused, and a four-lakh-page chargesheet stored in 17 trunks. The trial is unlikely to finish for two or three years. Published - January 02, 2026 11:02 pm IST