Supreme Court directs expeditious disposal of appeals of two Uttar Pradesh convicts in custody since 1991 and 2006

The Supreme Court today ordered for the expeditious hearing of appeals of two murder convicts from Uttar Pradesh who have been in custody for 30 years and 15 years respectively (Ishaque & Anr v. State of Uttar Pradesh)..A Bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and Sanjiv Khanna directed the Allahabad High Court to expedite the hearings of the two appeals before it and granted four months’ time for the same. The Court ordered,"The respondent State shall take all necessary steps to ensure that the pending trial against the petitioners is taken to its logical end expeditiously.".During the course of the hearing, counsel appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh brought to the Court’s notice that the first petitioner was a foreign national, and therefore, could not be released prematurely..The Bench was also informed that the second petitioner was simultaneously under trial for another offence under Section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code, and therefore, the benefit of release could not be afforded to him..After hearing the arguments, the Court disposed of the petition, noting that as per State policy, premature release of foreign nationals is not permissible and that during the pendency of the proceedings in this matter, the second petitioner had indulged in another offence..The first petitioner was convicted of the offence of murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code on June 12, 1996, and had been in custody since 1991. The second petitioner was convicted on February 17, 2007 in a murder case registered against him in 2004. As per the petition, he had undergone 15 years and 2 months in custody.Pursuant to their convictions, both the petitioners moved the High Court in appeal. The last judicial order in the criminal appeal by the first petitioner was passed on November 5, 2020, whereas the last order in the second petitioner's case was passed on October 23, 2019..It is prayed that while their appeals are pending in the High Court, they be released on bail as they have already undergone their terms of imprisonment..Further, it was submitted that even though the right to speedy trial has not been specifically enumerated in Article 21, no procedure that does not ensure a reasonably quick trial can be regarded as just and fair..It was highlighted that the petitioners are not the only ones languishing in jails in Uttar Pradesh after completing their sentences, and there were several others who await adjudication of their appeals in the High Court without bail..The petitioners moved the Supreme Court seeking a writ in the nature of Habeas Corpus, citing the judgement in Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secy., State of Bihar, in which the apex court considered the plight of undertrial prisoners and held that Habeas Corpus writs can be issued to grant bail for persons languishing in jail for years, pending trial..“It would be a travesty of justice that a poor, because of their meagre means continues to remain in detention because of the fact that they cannot afford lawyers to get justice in their cases,” stated the petition.