S.S.Sandhwalia, J.

1. Is capital crime punishable with death, a class apart by itself, and thus beyond the majestic sweep of the constitutional right to speedy public trial under Article 21 of the Constitution? Can a broad time frame for the original trials of capital offences be indicatively spelt out by precedent? Does the principle and ratio of Madheshwardhari Singh and Anr. V/s. State of Bihar -- extend to capital crimes as well? These indeed are the significant issues which have yet again necessitated this reference to the Full Bench in these five connected criminal writ jurisdiction cases.

2. In Madheshwardhari Singhs case (supra) as a prologue thereto it was said:

This judgment is now a part of the trilogy, beginning with the Division Bench case of The State of Bihar V/s. Ram Daras, AIR 1985 CrLJ 584 and expanded in the subsequent Full Bench decision in State of Bihar V/s. Maksudan Singh -- . it is, perhaps, illustrative of the poets hope of freedom slowly broadening down from precedent.

This judgment becomes another integral part in the series of the said trilogy and hopefully may prove as the epilogue in this context.

3 The terra firma for the factual matrix giving