Activist in jail for 7 years sans trial, SC steps in to hasten proceedings

NEW DELHI: Supreme Court Wednesday said it would pass an order to expedite proceedings against lawyer-activist Surendra Gadling in the 2016 Surajgarh arson case after he pressed for bail on the ground that he has been in jail for seven years without trial and there is also no judge in the special court to hear the matter.

A bench of Justices J K Maheshwari and Vijay Bishnoi said it will talk to the chief justice of Bombay HC for the appointment of a judge and pass an order to expedite the hearing. Senior advocate Anand Grover said the activist is in jail for seven years and proceedings in the case are not moving forward as video conferencing facility is not working and there is no judge to preside over the special court. Though he said it was a fit case for bail, the bench said it would fast-track the hearing in the special (trial) court.

As the case is based on the same set of evidence that is being used in the Koregaon Bhima Elgar Parishad case, the evidence, including documentary and digital, have to be brought to the trial court in Gadchiroli from the NIA court in Mumbai. But Grover said the evidence has not been placed before the court concerned. SC said that it would pass an order for bringing the evidence and would grant one month to both the prosecution and the accused to examine the evidence and argue the case for framing of charges.

The senior advocate said the liberty of his client was being violated, which is a serious matter. But SC was not inclined, and the lawyer then asked the bench to allow him to press for bail after a month.

Amid inconsistent stands taken by SC on the issue of grant of bail due to delay in trial and long incarceration, the issue hangs in balance. A three-judge bench in 2021 had said in the K A Najeeb case that stringent conditions under Section 43-D(5) of the UAPA "melt down" as time passes and it does not oust the ability of the constitutional courts to grant bail on grounds of violation of fundamental rights. This ruling was followed in other cases, including in Manish Sisodia's case in which the court said long period of incarceration - running for around 17 months - and the trial even not starting, amounts to violation of right to speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution, making a fit case for bail.

A division bench recently, while rejecting bail pleas of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam held that delay in trial and long incarceration cannot be the sole ground to grant relief. But later, SC in another judgment held that an accused has fundamental right to speedy trial and it is not eclipsed by the nature of the offence.

Gadling's bail plea is pending in SC since Oct 2023 when he filed an appeal against the Bombay HC order of denying him bail. The Surajgarh arson happened in Dec 2016 when around 39 vehicles engaged in transporting iron ore from the Surajgarh mines in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli were allegedly set on fire by Maoists. He has been booked for various offences under IPC and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).


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