Now Reading: Supreme Court criticises delay in activist Shahid Khan’s UAPA trial
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Supreme Court criticises delay in activist Shahid Khan’s UAPA trial
The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that the lifespan of a criminal trial cannot be that of a turtle, criticising delays in the more than three-year-long prosecution of activist Shahid Khan over…
The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that the lifespan of a criminal trial cannot be that of a turtle, criticising delays in the more than three-year-long prosecution of activist Shahid Khan over his alleged links to the banned Popular Front of India, the Times of India reported. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was hearing Khan's appeal against a Karnataka High Court order denying him bail, Khan, arrested on 22 September 2022, is accused of helping raise funds for the PFI between 2011 and 2019 and of assisting groups that allegedly planned attacks in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. With around 700 prosecution witnesses listed, the court found no prospect of an early conclusion. Khan's counsel argued that his activities predated the PFI's ban, that the charges carry a maximum five-year sentence, and that Khan has already spent more than half of that potential sentence awaiting trial, despite what counsel called a good chance of acquittal.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The remark addresses only the pace of the case, not the underlying allegations, which the defence disputes on both timing, whether Khan's conduct predates the PFI's ban, and exposure, a five-year statutory ceiling weighed against the more-than-half of that term counsel says Khan has already spent awaiting trial. A witness list of roughly 700 could reflect the complexity of a multi-state prosecution as easily as institutional delay, and Times of India's report sets out the charge and the defence argument without resolving that. The Supreme Court's ruling on Khan's bail appeal will decide whether he waits out the trial in custody.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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