New Delhi: Underscoring that right to speedy trial of an accused cannot be taken away because of the gravity of charges against him, Supreme Court on Wednesday said it is part of his fundamental rights and he would be entitled to bail in case of delay in trial.A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan expressed “shock” that an undertrial prisoner was languishing in jail in Uttar Pradesh for the last nine years in a murder case . The court granted him bail on the very first hearing and without seeking opinion of state govt, which is not the normal procedure to decide a case.The bench also took exception to the Allahabad high court order rejecting the accused’s bail plea. The HC had cited an SC judgment as grounds to deny bail. But the SC bench said that HC had failed to grasp the real import of the apex court’s order and expressed disappointment over it.“It appears that the HC has not been able to understand the true purport and ratio of the decision of this court… All that the HC ought to have considered is the fact that the petitioner is languishing in jail as an undertrial prisoner for the past nine years. What more was required for the HC to consider the plea of the petitioner for bail, keeping his right of speedy trial in mind as enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the SC bench said.
