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This is an archive article published on July 3, 2024
Supreme Court rebukes NIA for 4-year delay in trial, grants bail to accused: ‘don’t make a mockery of justice’
The Mumbai police apprehended the accused in February 2020, and allegedly recovered counterfeit currency originating from Pakistan from him
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Though the counsel for NIA prayed for more time, the court declined to adjourn the hearing. Express archiveThe Supreme Court said on Wednesday that every accused has the right to speedy trial despite the seriousness of the charges, and chided the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for opposing the bail plea of a man who has been in jail for four years after being charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
“Do not make a mockery of justice…You are the State; you are NIA… He (the accused) has the right to a speedy trial, whatever offence he has committed. He might have committed a serious offence, but you are under the obligation to start the trial. He has been in jail for the past four years. To date, the charge has not been framed,” Justice J B Pardiwala presiding over a two-judge bench said while granting bail to accused Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh.
While noting that the Central agency had proposed to examine 80 witnesses, the bench, also comprising Justice Ujjal Bhuyan, asked, “Tell us how many years he should remain in jail?”.
Though the counsel for NIA prayed for more time, the court declined to adjourn the hearing.
“As enshrined in the Constitution, every accused has a right to speedy trial howsoever serious the crime,” the bench said in its order, adding that in the instant case, it is convinced that this right has been frustrated, thus violating Article 21.
The Supreme Court also took note of the fact that two of the co-accused in the case had already been granted bail.
Acting on a tip-off, Mumbai police apprehended Shaikh on February 9, 2020, and allegedly recovered counterfeit currency originating from Pakistan from him. In February this year, the Bombay High Court rejected his bail plea following which he approached the apex court.
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