Constitutional courts may direct expedited trial in exceptional circumstances.

ORDER

This criminal original petition has been filed by the petitioner/accused No.2 seeking expeditious disposal of C.C.No.2518 of 2017 pending on the file of the learned Metropolitan Magistrate, Additional Court for exclusive trial of CCB cases, Egmore, arising out of the FIR in Crime No.137 of 2013 registered for the offences under Section 420 r/w. 34 of IPC on the file of the respondent, within a stipulated time.

2. When the matter was taken up for hearing, the learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side) appearing for the respondent police submitted that totally, there are twenty five (25) witnesses in this case and eleven (11)

witnesses have already been examined.

3. Heard learned counsel on either side and perused the materials available on record.

4. It is pertinent to state that a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, in the case of High Court Bar Association, Allahabad vs. State of Uttar Pradesh reported in (2024) 6 SCC 267, has held that the constitutional courts, in the ordinary course, should refrain from fixing a time-bound schedule for the disposal of cases pending before any other court. The relevant portion of the said decision for the sake of ready reference is reproduced below: "47.3. Constitutional courts, in the ordinary course, should refrain from fixing a time-bound schedule for the disposal of cases pending before any other courts. Constitutional courts may issue directions for the time-bound disposal of cases only in exceptional circumstances. The issue of prioritising the disposal of cases should be best left to the decision of the courts concerned where the cases are pending."

(emphasis supplied by this Court).

5. It has also been held in the aforesaid extracted portion that in exceptional circumstances, constitutional courts may issue directions for time bound disposal of cases.

6. Considering the facts and circumstances of this case and also considering that the case which arises out of the FIR registered in the year 2013, is of the year 2017 and the same has been pending for the past eight years, which, in the opinion of this Court is an exceptional circumstance, this Court directs the learned Metropolitan Magistrate, Additional Court for exclusive trial of CCB cases, Egmore, to dispose of the case in C.C.No.2518 of 2017, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of four months from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

7. With the above direction, this criminal original petition stands disposed of.