Shivani Pandey
Published on: August 24, 2021, at 10:00 IST
In a recent investigation reflecting upon the hindrances in the Criminal Justice System, it was brought to the notice of the Apex Court that the average waiting period to seek justice in a Criminal Appeal for the conviction by a Trial Court stretches to around 35 years as the disposition rate remains low at 18 percent.
It asserted that a person who approaches the High Court against conviction now might have to wait for 35 long years to get the case decided if the Convict is involved in heinous offences where it is difficult to get bail.
The data stated that a whopping 1.83 lakh Appeals are pending before the Allahabad High Court and were presented before the Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hrishikesh Roy.
In reference to the affidavit of the Uttar Pradesh Government, appeals from the 1990s are being heard presently by the Allahabad High Court and the appeals filed thereafter are in line to be heard and decided.
The issue came to light when a group of Petitioners sought the Apex Court’s involvement in the matter of granting bail to those prisoners who had been in jail for a duration spanning around 14 years or more.
Additional Advocate General Garima Prashad along with Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain of the Uttar Pradesh Government opined that“Bail could be granted in those cases in which the convict had undergone half of the sentence awarded.”
The State Government also added that,“To ensure public peace and the well-being of society, life convicts who are hardened criminals, repeat offenders, kidnappers, in crimes related to massacre and habitual criminals, be not granted bail.”