Now Reading: SC orders Karnataka to set up new UAPA court, slams ‘absurd’ trial plan
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SC orders Karnataka to set up new UAPA court, slams ‘absurd’ trial plan
SC orders Karnataka to set up new UAPA court, slams ‘absurd’ trial plan
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…
The Story in Brief
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.
The Indian Opinion
Both sides deserve scrutiny here. The Supreme Court is right to insist on speedy trial, four years in custody without a single witness examined is unacceptable under Article 21. But the accused is a PFI functionary facing serious charges of radicalisation and fund-raising for a banned outfit. The real test will be whether Karnataka meets the two-week deadline for infrastructure, and whether the special court can actually examine material witnesses in three months, not in the state’s fantasy of a year.
Sources (3): hindustantimes.com, timesofindia.indiatimes.com, livelaw.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 3 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 3 sources.
