Supreme Court Slams Judicial Delay as Bedridden Convict Freed After 45 Years
· India · Times of India, Indian Express
The Supreme Court of India termed the inordinate delay in a 45-year-old double murder case a failure of the judicial system, suspending the sentence of the sole surviving convict. A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran granted bail to the petitioner, who is in his 70s, bedridden, and hospitalized in custody in Jharkhand. The trial court in Jharkhand took 22 years to complete the initial trial resulting in a 2002 conviction, while the Jharkhand High Court took another 22 years to decide the appeal. Five of the original six accused died during the protracted legal proceedings spanning over four decades. The apex court noted that adequate compensation cannot make up for such prolonged incarceration if the petitioner is eventually acquitted.
Why it matters
The ruling highlights systemic delays in Indian courts, prompting scrutiny over decades-long trials and appeals that keep elderly convicts incarcerated.
Read the original report — Times of India
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