‘Liberty not reliant on order’s brevity’: Supreme Court in Haldwani riots case

The Supreme Court refused to interfere with the Uttarakhand high court's decision to release Abdul Malik, the alleged mastermind of the February 2024 Haldwani riots.

The bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana dismissed the Uttarakhand government's special leave petition challenging the April 16 order granting bail to Malik.

The court observed that 'liberty does not depend on inadequacy of a court order' and that not every bail order requires lengthy reasoning, as long as it indicates application of mind.

Senior additional advocate general Gaurav Bhatia argued for the state that bail was granted in a cursory manner without justification, but the court declined to accept this submission.