5 days ago
Delhi HC grants bail to alleged gangster citing violation of right to speedy trial
New Delhi: Where there is a "manifest and continuing violation" of the right to a speedy trial, constitutional courts are not only empowered but duty-bound to intervene,
Delhi High Court
has said, granting bail to an alleged gangster behind bars for eight years in an MCOCA case.
"The right to a speedy trial, now firmly entrenched in our constitutional jurisprudence under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, is not an abstract or illusory safeguard. It is a vital facet of the right to personal liberty and cannot be whittled down merely because the case arises under a special statute such as MCOCA," Justice Sanjeev Narula noted in an order earlier this week.
HC was hearing the bail plea of one Naresh alias Pahelwan, who sought relief citing prolonged jail time and undue delay in the conclusion of the trial.
He also invoked the principle of parity with co-accused who have already been granted bail. However, the prosecution opposed bail, stressing that Pahelwan is an active gang member of a crime syndicate and played a direct role in multiple offences, including murder, kidnapping for ransom, robberies, and extending threats to extort, and criminal intimidation.
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Listing out the 12 criminal cases lodged against Pehelwan, HC noted he was acquitted in all of them except one in which he was granted bail and the other which was before it.
On the police citing MCOCA as a ground to claim he is not eligible for bail, HC said when trials under special laws are unduly delayed, they must yield to the constitutional promise of liberty. "The more rigorous the provisions of the legislation, the more expeditious the adjudication must be... although Section 21(4) of MCOCA imposes stringent conditions for the grant of bail, these provisions must be balanced with the fundamental right to personal liberty of the accused," it underlined.
