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Krishnakant Tamrakar v. The State of Madhya Pradesh

Criminal Appeal · 2018 INSC 288Decided 28 Mar 2018
Criminal Appeal No. 470 of 2018
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel · Justice Uday Umesh Lalit

Background

This order does not decide the appellant's bail. A life convict had been in custody for over ten years while his appeal was pending in the High Court. The Court declined bail at the outset and took up the wider problem of delay.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final judgment on the appeal. The Court dealt with systemic issues: judicial vacancies, restructuring of courts, case management and, at length, lawyers' strikes that obstruct access to justice. It issued directions and observations on these matters.

Lesson Learnt

Long delays in hearing criminal appeals, and lawyers' strikes that cause them, undermine the right to speedy justice.

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

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