JUDGMENT

S. S. Sandhawalia, C. J. - This judgment is now a part of the trilogy, beginning with the Division Bench case of the State of Bihar v. Ram Daras Ahir1, and expanded in the subsequent Full Bench decision in The State of Bihar v. Maksudan Singh.2 It is, perhaps, illustrative of the poets hope of freedom slowly broadening down from precedent to precedent." The significant issues, which necessitated this reference to the Full Bench in this set of two connected cases may, perhaps, be precisely formulated as under:

(1) Whether the fundamental right to a speedy public trial enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution by presidential mandate is confined to only capital offences or is attracted to all offences generically?

(2) Whether the aforesaid right to a speedy trial is applicable only to the proceedings in court stricto sensu or includes within its sweep the preceding Police investigations as well?

(3) Is a speedy trial equally mandated by both the letter and spirit of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973?

(4) Whether the ratios in Ramdaras Ahir's case (supra) and in Maksudan Singh's case (supra) are applicable equally to all offences and irrespective of the fact whether the