'We'll expose you' for trial delay: SC to Maharashtra
NEW DELHI: Putting a premium on the liberty of arrested people, Supreme Court Friday said though it was endemic for states to oppose bail pleas tooth and nail, no corresponding steps were taken to expedite trials despite the apex court's repeated rulings that accused have a fundamental right to a speedy trial.
Days after imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 on the Amritsar SP after finding Punjab was not taking steps to produce an accused before the trial court to expedite the proceedings but was opposing his bail plea even though he had been in custody for a long period, a bench of Justices Ahasanuddin Amanullah and Sheel Nagu found Maharashtra remiss on a similar count.
Disapproving the negligent attitude that dents the right to a speedy trial, the bench said, "Every day we get cases of this nature from Maharashtra - oppose bail tooth and nail but not take steps to expedite trial. When we examine the case, the evidence is weak. We will expose you (the state) in public."
The man in question has been in jail for four years, and only two of 34 witnesses have been examined so far, the bench said. The accused, foreign national Kelvin Chindozie Okoro, was arrested in May 2022 for kidnapping and murder. HC had rejected his bail plea twice - in June 2024 and on March 17 this year.
Days after imposing a fine of Rs 50,000 on the Amritsar SP after finding Punjab was not taking steps to produce an accused before the trial court to expedite the proceedings but was opposing his bail plea even though he had been in custody for a long period, a bench of Justices Ahasanuddin Amanullah and Sheel Nagu found Maharashtra remiss on a similar count.
Disapproving the negligent attitude that dents the right to a speedy trial, the bench said, "Every day we get cases of this nature from Maharashtra - oppose bail tooth and nail but not take steps to expedite trial. When we examine the case, the evidence is weak. We will expose you (the state) in public."
The man in question has been in jail for four years, and only two of 34 witnesses have been examined so far, the bench said. The accused, foreign national Kelvin Chindozie Okoro, was arrested in May 2022 for kidnapping and murder. HC had rejected his bail plea twice - in June 2024 and on March 17 this year.
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