NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has expressed its astonishment regarding a trial court’s failure to frame charges against an accused, despite the chargesheet being filed nearly four years ago. The Court has requested an explanation from both the Maharashtra police and the trial court concerning the delay that has led to the accused remaining in jail. The state government attributed the delays to tactics employed by co-accused individuals who are currently out on bail. A bench comprising Justices Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra questioned why the prosecution had not sought the cancellation of their bail, which is contributing to the postponement of the trial. The bench noted a potential collusion between the prosecution and the accused. “We have been informed that even after four years of the petitioner being incarcerated, charges have yet to be framed, despite the chargesheet being submitted on January 13, 2022. When the court inquired about this, the learned counsel for the respondent-State indicated that the delay was due to other accused individuals. We are particularly taken aback by this assertion made by the learned counsel for the respondent-State. Upon further inquiry, it became evident that the prosecution has not submitted any application for the cancellation of bail for the other co-accused, who are out on bail and are alleged to be the reason for the inability to frame charges. Tentatively, we suspect that there is collusion between the prosecution and the accused,” stated the bench. “The trial court is also required to provide a report explaining why it has not ensured the appearance of the co-accused, who are out on bail, so that the trial can proceed, especially considering that one of the accused, who is the petitioner before this court, has been incarcerated for four years. This report should be submitted within three weeks from today,” it added.
The Supreme Court criticizes Maharashtra as an individual endures four years in prison following the filing of a chargesheet
