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Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh vs. State of Maharashtra

Not available · 2024 INSC 645Decided 3 Jul 2024
Not available
Justice J.B. Pardiwala · Justice Ujjal Bhuyan

Background

The appellant was arrested in February 2020 at Mumbai airport after 1,193 counterfeit Rs. 2,000 currency notes were allegedly recovered from his bag, said to have been smuggled from Pakistan via Dubai. The case was taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and he was charged under the IPC's counterfeit-currency provisions along with UAPA. He had already spent over four years in jail as an undertrial when the Bombay High Court declined to grant him bail, prompting this appeal to the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court granted bail, holding that prolonged pre-trial incarceration without the trial even meaningfully commencing violates the constitutional right to a speedy trial and personal liberty, regardless of how stringent the bail conditions under a special statute like UAPA are. The Court noted the trial had not progressed despite four years in custody, and reiterated that statutory bail restrictions cannot be used to indefinitely deny bail when there is no realistic prospect of a timely trial. It emphasized the injustice and harm caused by prison overcrowding and prolonged undertrial detention. Bail was granted subject to conditions including staying within Mumbai city limits and periodic reporting to the NIA/police.

Lesson Learnt

Even under strict anti-terror laws like UAPA, courts can and will grant bail once pre-trial detention becomes disproportionately long compared to the likely sentence, because the constitutional right to liberty and a speedy trial outweighs statutory bail bars when trials stall indefinitely.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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