New Delhi, Sep 22 (IANS) The Supreme Court has asked subordinate and high courts to give reasons while passing orders granting bail in criminal cases.

A bench of judges Arijit Pasayat and Lokeshwar Singh Panta said in its judgement Sep 18 that "there is a need to indicate in the order, reasons for prima facie concluding why bail was being granted particularly when an accused was charged of having committed a serious offence.

"It is necessary for the courts dealing with application for bail to consider among other circumstances the following factors: the nature of accusation and the severity of punishment in case of conviction and the nature of supporting evidence; reasonable apprehension of tampering of the witnesses or apprehension of threat to the complainant and prima facie satisfaction of the court in support of the charge".

Writing the judgement, Pasayat said, A court dealing with the bail application should be satisfied as to whether there is a prima facie case but exhaustive exploration of the merits of the case is not necessary.

"The court dealing with the application for bail is required to exercise its discretion in a judicious manner and not as a matter of course."

In the instant case, the appellant Gajanand Agarwal was aggrieved over the Orissa High Court granting bail to two accused in a criminal case, initiated on the basis of his complaint. The order simply said "in the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case" the bail was being granted.

Allowing the appeals, the bench asked the high court to dispose of the bail applications again in accordance with law.