Uttar Pradesh

• 07 Mar 2022

Speedy Trial: Right of Every Accused

Why in News

• Recently, the Supreme Court has issued a notice to Uttar Pradesh on the petition of 12 life prisoners lodged in Agra Central Jail for 14 years. In such a situation, the issue of the right of speedy hearing and judicial delay has come up again in the discussion.

Key Points

• Supreme Court Justices Indira Banerjee and J.K. Maheshwari's bench has issued this notice.
• It is noteworthy that 12 life prisoners, who have been sentenced to more than 14 years lodged in Agra Central Jail of Uttar Pradesh, had approached the Supreme Court for release and bail. The appeals of these prisoners have been pending in the High Court for years.
• This is not the first case of life-imprisonment convicts in Uttar Pradesh having served more than 14 years of imprisonment and the appeal has not been heard.
• On February 25 also, a bench headed by Chief Justice NV Ramana granted bail to the accused Ritu Pal, taking cognizance of the fact that he had served more than 14 years in a similar case and the bail application and appeal was pending in the High Court for 10 years.