New Delhi, May 4 -- The Supreme Court expressed strong disapproval of bail conditions such as cleaning of police stations imposed by Orissa courts on certain accused persons belonging to lower caste communities.

Taking suo moto cognisance of the matter based on news reports, a bench led by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi on Monday issued omnibus directions to Orissa courts to immediately stop such a cruel practice and termed the same as null and void.

The Court observed that such conditions were imposed with a premeditated bias, and the nature of these conditions is so abhorrent, cruel, degrading and unknown to law, that it carries potential to cast serious aspersions suggesting that the Odisha ju...