Overview
- After reviewing a trial-court report, the Supreme Court called the delay a mockery of Article 21, noting only seven witnesses examined in seven years with 82 hearings recording no testimony.
- The court granted interim bail to Anoop Singh, arrested in a 2018 murder case with charges framed in 2019, citing prolonged incarceration without trial progress.
- Jammu & Kashmir’s counsel cited COVID disruptions, a protest petition leading to a High Court-ordered de novo probe, and absent witnesses from Haryana, but the bench found these explanations unconvincing.
- The Home Secretary of J&K must appear by video and submit details of all pending criminal trials where the accused have been in custody for more than five years.
- In a separate order, the Delhi High Court decried a 13-year delay in securing a life convict after appeal dismissal and issued a protocol requiring immediate communication of interim-bail and suspension orders and prompt action to ensure surrender or arrest.