The Supreme Court recently directed all trial courts to mandatorily inform accused persons of their right to legal representation, including their entitlement to free legal aid and to record this process in their orders before commencing the examination of witnesses [Reginamary Chellamani vs. State].
A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and K Vinod Chandran said the procedure must be followed scrupulously and ordered that its directions be communicated to the Chief Justices of all High Courts for implementation across trial courts.
The direction came while granting bail to an accused who had spent over four years in custody in a narcotics case involving alleged seizure of commercial quantity contraband.
The case arose from the arrest of one Reginamary Chellamani in connection with an NDPS case registered by the Customs Department.
The prosecution alleged that contraband recovered from her exceeded commercial quantity.
After her arrest, Chellamani remained in judicial custody as the case proceeded to trial. Her application for bail was rejected by the Madras High Court on July 24, 2025.
Aggrieved by this, she approached the Supreme Court.
While considering her appeal, the Supreme Court noted that Chellamani had already undergone incarceration of four years. The Court also took note of the fact that another accused person who had been travelling with her on the same flight, had already been granted bail by the Supreme Court.
In view of the above, the Court directed that Chellamani be released on bail.
While granting bail, the Bench noted that Chellamani had not cross-examined prosecution witnesses at the initial stage of the trial. It was only after she engaged her own counsel and her application to recall witnesses was allowed, that she was able to cross-examine them.
The Court said this highlighted a recurring issue in criminal trials where accused persons proceed without proper legal assistance.
The Bench emphasised the duty of trial courts in such situations and said accused persons must be informed of their right to legal representation and of their entitlement to legal aid if they cannot afford a lawyer.
“It is incumbent upon the trial Courts dealing with criminal proceedings, faced with such situations, to inform the accused of their right to legal representation and their entitlement to be represented by legal aid counsel in the event they cannot afford a counsel,” the court noted.
The Court further directed that trial courts must record the offer of legal aid made to the accused, the response of the accused, and the action taken thereafter before beginning the examination of witnesses.
“The trial Courts shall record the offer made to the accused in this regard, the response of the accused to such offer and also the action taken thereupon in their orders, before commencing examination of the witnesses,” it said.
Stating that this safeguard must not remain on paper, the Court said the procedure must be adopted and put into practice strictly.
Senior Advocate Raghenth Basant along with advocates Swastik Dalai, M Srinivasan, Kaushitaki Sharma, Bagavathy Vennimalai, E Shanthakumar and T Yuvaresh appeared for the accused.
Additional Solicitor General SD Sanjay and advocates Navroop Jawanda, Parthvi Ahuja, Khushal Kolwar, Disha Thakkar, Gurmeet Singh Makker, Rajat Nair, Aastha Singh, Mili Baxi, Alankar Gupta and Raman Yadav appeared for the respondents.
[Read Order]