Speedy trial is also victim’s right, Supreme Court holds

The Supreme Court on Monday set aside an Allahabad High Court order that had kept a murder trial in abeyance, ruling that the right to a speedy trial belongs to victims as well as accused persons. A bench of Justices K V Viswanathan and Arun Palli held that Section 12 of the Uttar Pradesh Gangsters and Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act, 1986, does not require all other criminal proceedings against an accused to be suspended until the Gangsters Act trial ends.

The case arose from a September 2023 FIR lodged by the brother of a man allegedly beaten to death in Lalitpur. After police filed a gang chart, an FIR under the Gangsters Act was registered in January 2024. The accused argued that the Gangsters Act trial should take precedence and sought to stall the murder case. The trial court dismissed their plea, but the High Court stayed the murder trial and directed the Gangsters Act proceedings be expedited.

The Supreme Court said Section 12 only gives Gangsters Act proceedings priority when hearing dates in different cases clash. The bench noted that after it stayed the High Court order on April 13, the trial court convicted all accused under Section 302 of the IPC. The court warned that accepting the accused's interpretation would allow them to delay other cases and harm evidence preservation.