If the trial is going on slowly, the accused is entitled to bail, no matter what the crime is: Supreme Court

New Delhi : The Supreme Court on Wednesday strongly reprimanded the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The court said that it is the fundamental right of every accused that the trial of his/her case should be conducted speedily, irrespective of the gravity of the alleged crime. If the trial is going on very slowly, then in such cases the accused is entitled to bail. The apex court made this remark while granting bail to a person arrested in the fake currency case, who was caught by the Mumbai Police on 9 February 2020. Javed Ghulam Nabi Sheikh was arrested by the Mumbai Police from outside Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. Fake currency worth Rs 21 lakh was allegedly recovered from him/her. During the investigation, it was found that Sheikh had to deliver these fake notes to certain people, whose printing was allegedly done in Pakistan. After this, the case was transferred to the NIA.

The Supreme Court observed that the NIA has filed a chargesheet in the case but the trial court has not yet framed the charges. The NIA lawyer requested time to respond to Sheikh’s bail plea, which was rejected by the court. The bench said that the accused has been in jail for the last 4 years. Speedy trial is his/her right. The Supreme Court said that the charges against the accused are yet to be framed but the prosecution intends to cross-examine about 80 witnesses.

The vacation bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Ujjwal Bhuyan wondered when the cross-examination of such a large number of witnesses and the trial would be completed. While granting bail to the accused, the bench said, ‘The manner in which the prosecution agency and the trial court have proceeded violates the right of the accused to a speedy trial.’

The bench overturned the Bombay High Court’s decision to reject the bail plea and ordered the release of Sheikh. However, the apex court has also added a condition to the bail. Javed Sheikh will not have to leave Mumbai city and he/she will have to report to the NIA office once a week.

According to a report by our partner Times of India, the Supreme Court had first declared speedy trial as a fundamental right in 1979, considering it a part of the right to life under Article 21. Then in its decision in the Hussain Ara Khatoon case, the Supreme Court had for the first time linked speedy trial with the fundamental right of right to life. The court had said in its decision, ‘Speedy trial is the essence of criminal justice, so delay in trial is in itself a denial of justice. Although speedy trial cannot be specifically counted as a fundamental right, it is definitely contained in the broad scope and content of Article 21.’