Allahabad High Court warns ‘Pandora’s Box’ from Supreme Court custody rulings

The Allahabad High Court said recent Supreme Court judgments that allow habeas‑corpus petitions at any stage of an investigation have opened a “Pandora’s box”. The bench noted two contradictory sets of apex‑court rulings: older decisions that restrict habeas petitions to unlawful custody orders, and newer rulings that remove those limits. It warned that accused persons could now file petitions “at will” even after charge‑sheet filing, framing of charges or remand orders, overwhelming the courts. While hearing a petition from an accused in a dowry‑death and murder case, the judges held that once an investigation is concluded and a charge‑sheet is taken up, the right to challenge the initial remand order cannot be exercised, and any further challenge must follow statutory remedies.

The court emphasized that habeas petitions filed after cognizance of the charge‑sheet, committal or framing of charges cannot be justified, urging a return to the earlier restrictive jurisprudence to prevent a flood of frivolous petitions.