Long Wait For Justice

A remedy to reduce the number of those behind bars due to delays by High Courts in hearing their appeals, continues to be elusive. The top court has now stepped in to apply some arm-twisting

- Venkatasubramanian

ON November 1, a court in Rampur, Uttar Pradesh, convicted six accused, including two Pakistani nationals, in the attack on a Central Reserve Police Force camp in Rampur in 2008 in which seven jawans of the paramilitary forces and a civilian were killed. Four of them were sentenced to death, while the remaining two were sentenced to life and 10 years’ imprisonment, respectively. Mohammad Kausar (a resident of Pra tap garh) and Gulab Khan (a resident of Bareilly), accused of hiding the weapons used in the attack, were, however, acquit ted after they spent 11 years in Bar silly Central Jail.

While Kausar and Khan are unsure whether their acquittal can help them get rid of the “terrorist” tag, those among the six accused must be anxious to get relief in the form of bail, as and when they file their appeals in the Alla - habad High Court against their convictions. It would not be a surprise if those convicted knock at the Supreme Court’s doors for interim bail if the High Court neither grants them bail nor ensures expeditious hearing of their appeals.

The judicial remedy for those behind bars mainly because of the inordinate delay by the High Courts in hearing their appeals against their conviction by the trial courts continues to be elusive despite periodic concern expressed by the Supreme Court.

In the latest instance, the SupremeCourt bench of Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and Justice Surya Kant, on November 4 considered an appeal filed by a convict, Khursheed Ahmad, who sought early release from prison in view of the inordinate delay by the Alla habad High Court in hearing his appeal against conviction and sentence by the trial court in a case of murder.