IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

S.L.P (CRIMINAL) NO................ OF 2017

(Arising out of Crl.M.P. No.4891 of 2017)

Ramu & another

.…Petitioners

VERSUS

State of U.P.

....Respondent

O R D E R

Delay condoned.

Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners and perused

the order impugned rejecting the prayer for their release on bail

pending disposal of their appeal against their conviction under

Sections 148, 302 read with Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code

recorded by the Trial Court by its judgment and order dated

20.01.2007. Noticeably, the incident is of 22.09.2005 and the

appeal filed by the petitioners against their conviction is of

the year 2007.

On a consideration of the materials on record to the extent

necessary at this stage and qua the prayer for bail, we are not

inclined to interfere with the order impugned. However, having

regard to the insistent plea on behalf of the petitioners to

indicate a time frame for the disposal of the appeal, we request

the High Court, having regard to the singular facts and

1

Digitally signed by

DEEPAK MANSUKHANI

Date: 2017.04.05

16:59:16 IST

Reason:

Signature Not Verified

circumstances of the case, to decide the appeal within a period

of four months herefrom. In making this request, we have taken

note of the persistent submission on behalf of the petitioners

that having regard to the huge pendency of cases including

criminal appeals before the High Court, it would in normal course

of things, take several more years for the disposal of the appeal

in hand. As it is, a decade has already passed since the

institution of the appeal. The reliefs prayed for in the instant

petition thus stand addressed in the above terms.

2.

The phenomenon of mounting pendency and discomfiting

delay in disposal of cases, both before the District Courts and

the High Courts of the country, has by this time received the

concerned attention of this Court on umpteen occasions and from

time to time in several cases, exhaustive directions of general

nature have been issued to ameliorate the situation in the

overwhelming perspective of the right to speedy trial and

disposal of criminal appeals as ingrained in Article 21 of the

Constitution of India. As recent as in Hussain & Anr. Vs. Union

of India – Criminal Appeal No.509 of 2017 rendered on 09.03.2017,

this Court on an in-depth examination of all relevant aspects on

the issue and also after taking cognizance of the steps already

initiated by the judiciary, both at the District and the High

Court levels, has issued directions to achieve speedy disposal of

trials and appeals specially of the long pending cases as

mentioned therein on the basis of action plans to be formulated

2

and monitored by the High Courts.

3.

With due deference to the ongoing efforts as referred to

hereinabove and noticing that the initiatives directed are more

or less general in nature and in contemplation of a scrutiny in

consolidation of the same, we had requested Mr. C.U. Singh and

Mr. Shyam Divan, Senior Advocates of this Court to offer their

responses and recommendations for outlining specific guidelines

based on the recorded statistics of pending criminal appeals, to

start with, as a pilot project, of the High Court of Allahabad.

The choice of the High Court, we may clarify, is only in view of

the extent of pendency and the frequently expressed concern over

the relatively longer disposal time in the adjudication of the

criminal appeals before it, which as well is noticeable from the

contemporaneous records. We wish to state that the selection of

the High Court by no means is an indication of any deficiency in

the functioning or the ongoing endeavours on its part in

addressing the issue and ought to be viewed as a step, if

possible, to reinforce the same in the espousal of a public cause

founded on the cherished right of personal liberty, however in