New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted bail to a man accused in a murder case after he spent more than nine years in jail, saying the prolonged delay in the trial and his continued incarceration had “shocked the judicial conscience” of the court.
A bench of Justices M M Sundresh and P B Varale passed the order on July 16 while hearing the plea of Liakat Ali, who argued that he had remained behind bars for over nine years and two months without any significant progress in the trial.
The court noted that although his previous bail plea had been decided in 2024, the trial had barely moved forward. So far, only 12 of the 30 prosecution witnesses have been examined.
Ali’s counsel submitted that he was a teenager when the alleged offence took place and that the case against him was based entirely on circumstantial evidence. The defence also relied on the principle that bail should be the norm and jail the exception.
Opposing the plea, the Jammu and Kashmir government argued that the petitioner could have filed a fresh bail application before the trial court and that the serious charges against him under the Ranbir Penal Code did not warrant interference by the Supreme Court.
However, the apex court observed that while it would ordinarily not entertain such a petition, the exceptional delay in concluding the trial justified its intervention. It also noted that the petitioner had remained in custody for over nine years through no fault of his own and that the trial was likely to take even longer.
Emphasising that courts and the prosecution have a duty to ensure speedy trials for accused persons in custody, the bench exercised its powers under Article 32 of the Constitution and directed that Ali be released on bail, subject to conditions to be fixed by the trial court.
