It took 16 years for the legislature to amend S. 41 of Cr.P.C. in the light of the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Joginderkumar (AIR 1994 SC 1349).  But the colonial mindset of detaining the ‘natives’ has continued to dog the lower judiciary.  A person’s liberty is often treated with shocking casualness.  Quite frequently, an accused although granted bail has to remain in jail, either for want of a solvent surety or technical red-tapism…. for instance, the stringent requirement of prescribed documents required to be produced by the surety. Further, the Judicial Establishment is unduly obsessed with production of ‘Ration Card’ even though the Criminal Manual doesn’t make it obligatory.   Another impediment is the condition that the surety must ‘own’ an immovable property in his exclusive name.  In urban India, not many can afford to own an immovable property.  This argument that the suret ....