Supreme Court: 45-year delay in double murder case is 'failure of judicial system'

The Supreme Court on Tuesday decried the prolonged delay in a double murder case that has dragged on for over four decades, calling it a "failure of the judicial system" as it granted bail to a bedridden convict in his 70s — the sole survivor among six accused.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and K Vinod Chandran suspended the sentence of the petitioner, who has been in custody for years, and directed his immediate release on bail. The court also decided to examine why the trial court and the Jharkhand High Court took 22 years each to decide the case, which relates to a double murder committed in 1981.

"The said case projects failure of the judicial system, when a crime went unpunished and the accused were put to the torture of a prolonged trial of 22 years and then after conviction, the appeal filed having been dismissed after yet another two decades and two years," the bench observed.

Advocate Fauzia Shakil, appearing for the convict, submitted that the petitioner would suffer grave prejudice and irreparable loss if bail were not granted, noting that no adequate compensation could undo his prolonged incarceration if he were ultimately acquitted by the Supreme Court.

Despite the seriousness of the crime, the bench said it could not ignore the ordeal suffered by the accused over the past 45 years. "Especially noting his medical condition and the affidavit of the state that the petitioner is admitted in the hospital, though in custody, we suspend the sentence and direct that the petitioner shall be released forthwith on condition of his not committing any crime when on bail and on his personal surety," the court ordered.

The court expressed deep concern over the timeline. "It is very disturbing to note that although the incident is of the year 1981 yet the judgement and order passed by the trial court holding the petitioner guilty of the alleged crime is of 2002. We fail to understand why it took 22 years for the trial court to complete the trial... Even HC took 22 years to decide the appeal preferred by the petitioner challenging the judgement and order of conviction passed by the trial court. This delay highlighted above is something very disturbing," the bench noted.

When the court sought an explanation for the delay, the Registrar General of the Jharkhand High Court told the bench that part of the delay was caused because the accused were absconding for six years. However, the court observed that this did not explain the 12 years taken to complete the trial after charges were framed in 1991.

"We were concerned with pendency of the criminal appeals as pointed out in the report of HC and we hence thought it fit to permit the petitioner to implead Centre in the above matter. The learned advocate-on-record appearing for HC would serve a copy of the affidavit of compliance filed by the registrar general to the office of the attorney general/solicitor general," the court said, indicating that the matter would be examined further.

According to available records, five of the six accused in the case died during the prolonged proceedings. The surviving convict, now bedridden and in his 70s, has been fighting the legal battle from jail. The Supreme Court's intervention comes as a significant step in addressing the systemic issue of delays in the justice delivery system, particularly in criminal cases where accused persons spend decades awaiting final adjudication.

The court's decision to examine the reasons behind the delay is expected to prompt a broader review of how such lengthy trials and appeals are handled, with the aim of ensuring timely justice for all parties involved.