"Mockery of justice": Supreme Court rebukes NIA for 4-year delay in trial, grants bail

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuked the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in strong words for the delaying the trial in a counterfeit currency case resulting in the accused languishing in jail for four years without trial..A Division Bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan emphasized that regardless of the seriousness of a crime, an accused has a right to speedy trial under article 21 of the Indian Constitution."You are the NIA. Please do not make a mockery of justice. It is 4 years and the trial has not commenced. This is not done. Whatever offence the accused has committed, he has the right to speedy trial. Do not say a word now. Not a word," the Court remarked.The Court, therefore, granted bail to the accused."Howsoever serious a crime be the accused has a right to speedy trial as enshrined under the constitution. Right to speedy trial was infringed thereby violating article 21," the Court stated..The Court was hearing an appeal by the accused against a February 2024 Bombay High Court order that refused to grant bail to the accused.The accused was apprehended by Mumbai Police in 2020 based on secret documents, which led to the recovery of counterfeit currency notes allegedly from Pakistan. The NIA later took over the investigation, revealing that the appellant had visited Dubai in February 2020 and had received the counterfeit currency there..At the outset, the Court disapproved of the delay in trial and urged the NIA to not 'make a mockery of justice' given the right of the accused to a speedy trial..Further, the Court noted that two co-accused had already been arrested and granted bail, with one bail order currently under challenge before the Supreme Court.The Court noted that the accused was in jail as an undertrial for four years, the trial court had not framed charges and that the prosecution was to examine 80 witnesses. .For these reasons, the Court set aside the Bombay High Court order and granted bail to the accused, subject to conditions set by the trial court. The Court also directed the accused to mark his appearance at NIA's Bombay office every 15 days.