Chhattisgarh High Court's Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha has issued an order requiring individuals seeking bail to provide a transparent account of their criminal history or the absence thereof in their bail petition. This directive aims to address the issue of unnecessary delays in processing bail requests caused by the omission of such information.

Chief Justice Sinha issued this directive while presiding over a bail petition. He remarked, "During bail application hearings, the court has often noticed that the applicants do not provide information about their criminal history. This lack of information necessitates the court to direct the state counsel to gather this information, leading to the postponement of proceedings."

Chief Justice Sinha further pointed out that even when information about the applicants' criminal history is eventually provided, their legal representatives often fail to present details regarding the accused's explanation or the current status of the trial in those cases. This omission also contributes to delays in the expeditious handling of bail applications.

As a directive, Chief Justice Sinha ordered that in all bail applications submitted by the accused under Section 439 of CrPC to this court, the applicants must explicitly disclose their criminal history by including a clear statement in the bail application. Even in cases where the accused has no prior criminal record, they should unequivocally mention this fact. Chief Justice Sinha emphasized that it is established legal precedent from the Supreme Court that when evaluating a bail application, the courts must take into account the nature of the accusation, the potential severity of the punishment, and the accused's criminal background.

Chief Justice Sinha instructed the judicial registrar of the high court to take measures to ensure that bail applications under Section 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) are promptly accepted at the filing counter starting from October 30. 

Additionally, Chief Justice Sinha instructed the registrar to communicate this directive to the members of the High Court Bar Association.