Lower courts are obligated to decide bail applications within a specific time frame, as per the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in Hussain and another (2017) 5 SCC 702.

Court No. - 67

Case :- APPLICATION U/S 482 No. - 15204 of 2022

Applicant :- Sanju

Opposite Party :- State Of U.P. And 3 Others

Counsel for Applicant :- Lavkush Kumar Bhatt

Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.

Hon'ble Rahul Chaturvedi,J.

Heard learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Arvind Kumar

Srivastava, learned counsel for the informant as well as learned

A.G.A. and perused the record.

By means of the present 482 Cr.P.C. application, the prayer

sought by the applicant is to allow the present application and

quash the charge sheet dated 19.04.2022 as well as entire

proceedings of Special Session Trial No.50 of 2022 (State Vs.

Sanju) in Case Crime No.0057 of 2022, under Sections 363,

366, 376 I.P.C. and Section 5 (J) (2)/6 of POCSO Act, Police

Station Fatehgarh Kotwali, District Farrukhabad pending in the

Court of learned Additional District and Sessions Judge/Special

Judge POCSO Act, Farrukhabad.

After arguing the case for quite some time at length and pitted

against certain observations made by the Court, learned counsel

for the applicant himself has given up to address the Court on

merits of the case and prayed, that the purpose of his client

would suffice, if a direction may be given to the courts below to

decide his bail application within specific time frame.

Considering the entire facts and circumstances of the case and

the arguments advanced, this Court is of the opinion that since

learned counsel for the applicant has already given up that he

does not want to press the case on merit, in the fitness of

circumstances, this 482 Cr.P.C. application stands disposed of

with the direction that the court below would extend the benefit

of interim bail (if the court concerned deems it fit according to

the merit of each case) as contemplated in the law laid down by

this Court in the case of Amrawati and another Vs. State of

U.P. reported in 2004 (57) ALR 290 as well as judgement

passed by Hon'ble Apex Court reported in 2009 (3) ADJ 322

(SC) Lal Kamlendra Pratap Singh Vs. State of U.P. after the

applicant surrenders within 15 days before the court and if his

bail application is filed, the same shall be adjudicated and

decided by the courts below with speaking and reasoned order,

strictly in accordance with law, in the light of the judgment

given by Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Hussain and

another Vs. Union of India reported in (2017) 5 SCC Page-

702, relevant extract of which reads as under :-

"….......Judicial service as well as legal service are not like

any other services. They are missions for serving the society.

The mission is not achieved if the litigant who is waiting in

the queue does not get his turn for a long time".......

"Decision of cases of under-trials in custody is one of the

priority areas. There are obstructions at every level in

enforcement of right of speedy trial; vested interests or

unscrupulous elements try to delay the proceedings"....... "In

spite of all odds, determined efforts are required at every level

for success of the mission"..... "The Presiding Officer of a

court cannot rest in a state of helplessness. This is the

constitutional responsibility of the State to provide necessary

infrastructure and of the High Courts to monitor the

functioning of subordinate courts to ensure timely disposal of

cases."

To satiate speedy disposal of the cases, the courts below are

issued following directions in accordance with the observations

made in the case of Hussain and another (Supra):

(i)Bail applications be disposed of normally within one week :

(ii) Magisterial trials, where accused are in custody, be

normally concluded within six months and sessions trials where

accused are in custody be normally concluded within two years.

(iii)................................................................................................

.......;

(iv).................................................................................................

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