New Delhi: Expressing its annoyance over the delay in the completion of trials in criminal cases due to non-framing of charges for years even after chargesheets are filed, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said it needs to lay down pan-India guidelines to address the problem, which leads to huge pendency of cases in the judiciary.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and N V Anjaria, which sought the assistance of the Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, said even after the chargesheets are filed, the trial courts are not framing the charges for three to four years.
“We have noticed, time and again, the charges are not being framed even months and years after the filing of the chargesheet. This is one of the primary reasons for the trial getting delayed.
“We are of the considered opinion that certain directions need to be issued pan-India,” the bench observed, appointing Senior Advocate Siddharth Luthra as amicus curiae along with State of Bihar’s counsel in the matter.
During the hearing of a criminal case, the bench questioned why it takes years to frame charges despite the filing of a chargesheet. “We want to know what the difficulties are, or we will issue directions for all courts across the country. We propose to do it,” the bench said, as reported by LiveLaw.
The top court noted that in many instances, charges remain unframed even months or years after the filing of a chargesheet. “Until and unless it is framed, trial will not commence. As such, this situation seems to be prevalent in most of the courts,” the bench remarked.
Supporting the need for clear directions, Bihar’s counsel said there is often a substantial delay between the filing of a chargesheet and the framing of charges. Maharashtra’s counsel also referred to an earlier order by Justice Sanjay Karol’s bench, which had highlighted the “shocking state of affairs” in Maharashtra, where charges had not been framed in 649 cases.
The apex court also sought the assistance of the Attorney General for India, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, and Senior Advocate S. Nagamuthu in the matter.
