The Supreme Court of India expressed shock at the 4-year delay by the Allahabad High Court in deciding a bail application for Imran, an accused in a murder case who has been in custody for six years. The Court noted that despite co-accused being granted bail, Imran’s plea was adjourned 16 times. While the Apex Court refrained from granting interim bail or seeking an explanation, it directed the matter to be brought to the attention of the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court for immediate consideration.
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NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court of India expressed surprise and concern over the long delay by the Allahabad High Court in deciding a bail application for an accused in a murder case. The bail application has been pending for over four years.
The Bench of Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice R Mahadevan noted the delay during the hearing.
“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,”
-the Court remarked.
The accused, Imran, through his lawyer advocate Anas Chaudhary, informed the Supreme Court on January 6 that he has been in custody for nearly six years. Despite this, his bail application has been postponed 16 times by the High Court.
Advocate Chaudhary also told the court that other co-accused persons in the same case have already been granted bail. Based on this, Imran requested interim bail.
The Supreme Court, however, did not grant interim bail. It observed that the trial in the case is nearing completion.
“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,”
-the Court stated.
Given the progress of the trial, the Supreme Court decided not to demand an explanation from the High Court regarding the delay. Instead, it issued directions to bring the matter to the attention of 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.
Imran was represented by a team of advocates, including Md. Anas Chaudhary, Kavindra Yadav, Alia Bano Zaidi, and Ansar Ahmad Chaudhary.
CASE TITLE:
Imran v The State of Uttar Pradesh.
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