# SC orders Karnataka to set up new UAPA court, slams ‘absurd’ trial plan 2026-08-12T22:26:23+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 3 independent outlets The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Karnataka government to provide infrastructure for an additional special court to exclusively handle UAPA cases on a day-to-day basis. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said the state “cannot have the luxury of prolonging trials for years”. The order came while hearing a plea by Shahid Khan, an accused in a PFI conspiracy case, who has been in custody for nearly four years. The state told the court it planned to examine three protected witnesses and 50 others within a year. The bench called this timeline “as absurd as a fairytale” and ordered that the three protected witnesses be examined within three months. The court also directed that each special court should not handle more than 12 to 15 cases. The prosecution plans to examine 707 witnesses, including protected ones. ## Coverage - hindustantimes.com - timesofindia.indiatimes.com - livelaw.in Tags: Karnataka, PFI, special court, Supreme Court, trial delay, UAPA Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/sc-orders-karnataka-to-set-up-uapa-court-caps-cases-at-12-15/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/sc-orders-karnataka-to-set-up-uapa-court-caps-cases-at-12-15/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.