Speedy trial is Umar-Sharjeel’s right https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/comment/speedy-trial-is-umar-sharjeels-right/ Justice Madan B Lokur
An accused person is entitled, as per provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC, which was in force at that time), access to all the material and documents relied on by the prosecution in the chargesheet. In all fairness, the chargesheets, with all documents, should have been handed over to all the accused persons simultaneously with their filing. For reasons best known to the prosecution, compliance with the statutory mandate was recorded by the trial judge only on August 5, 2023 — about three years later. Meanwhile, the prosecution kept filing supplementary chargesheets one after another, with the fourth one on June 7, 2023.
Is the prosecution serious about this case? Umar and Sharjeel have been accused of grave offences, a larger conspiracy including a terrorist act resulting in the death of a large number of people, trying to engineer regime change and internationalise the protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act during the visit of the US President.
Surely, this was a case that should have been decided within six months and not one where documents were supplied to the accused after three years.