Pinnacle court says that undertrial can’t be indefinitely detained pending trial

The bench comprising  Justices Ajay Rastogi and Abhay S. Oka observed that Once it is obvious that a timely trial would not be possible and the accused has suffered incarceration for a significant period of time, the Courts would ordinarily be obligated to enlarge him on bail. The Bench also observed that While deprivation of personal liberty for some period may not be avoidable, the period of deprivation pending trial/appeal cannot be unduly long. At the same time, timely delivery of justice is part of human rights and denial of speedy justice is a threat to public confidence in the administration of justice”. The court was considering a case of an under trial accused under Sections 120B, 121, 121A, 122 IPC, Section 25(1A) of the Arms Act 1959, Section 5 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and Sections 18,20,40(1)(b)(c) of the Unlawful Activities(Prevention) Act, 1967.Taking up the case of a Maoist leader charged under the tough UAPA law, the Supreme Court held that an undertrial cannot be indefinitely detained in prison if there is a delay in concluding the trial. The courts “would ordinarily be obligated” to grant bail if timely trial is not possible and the accused has been in jail for long. The court granted bail to the 74-year alleged senior Maoist leader Asim Kumar Bhattacharya being tried by the National Investigation Agency under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) act. The court found that the State has arraigned 298 prosecution witnesses in his case. “The charges against the accused are undoubtedly serious but the charges will have to be balanced with certain other factors like the period of incarceration which he has undergone and the likelihood period within which the trial can be expected to be finally concluded,” the Supreme Court said. The court finally noted that cases investigated by the National Investigation Agency should be tried on a day-to-day basis and have priority over other cases.