The Supreme Court of India has expressed deep concern over the prolonged delay in the disposal of a bail application pending in the Allahabad High Court for four years. The bench, consisting of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan, was taken aback upon learning that the bail plea of an accused, Imran, in a murder case had been adjourned 16 times by the High Court, despite the petitioner being in custody for nearly six years.
The Supreme Court observed, “We are shocked to learn from the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner that the bail application filed by the petitioner in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad bearing Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 40542 of 2020 is still pending as on date.”
Imran’s counsel, Advocate Md. Anas Chaudhary, highlighted the fact that co-accused individuals had already been granted bail in the case, and thus, sought interim bail for Imran as well. However, the Court refrained from granting bail, noting that the prosecution had already completed its evidence presentation in the trial. “Perhaps, what is now left could be the recording of the further statement of the petitioner-accused under Section 313 of the Cr.P.C. and the final arguments,” it stated.
Despite not granting bail, the Supreme Court took a significant step by directing that the matter be placed before the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court. “The Registry shall forward this order to the High Court with a request to place this order before Hon’ble Chief Justice of the High Court of Allahabad for his kind consideration,” the Court ordered.
Case: Imran vs The State of Uttar Pradesh – Available on LAWFYI.IO
