NEW DELHI: Constitutional Court should avoid fixing a time-bound schedule for disposal of any case before any court unless the situation is extraordinary, the Supreme Court said while refusing to entertain a plea seeking a direction for disposal of a criminal matter within a fixed time.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal said that in every high court and especially the bigger ones, there are filed a large number of bail petitions and therefore, some delay in the disposal of such petitions is inevitable.”We are of the view that since every high court and every court in the country has a huge pendency, the Constitutional Court should avoid the temptation of fixing a time-bound schedule for disposal of any case before any court unless the situation is extraordinary,” the bench said.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by Shaikh Uzma Feroz Hussain seeking a direction to the Maharashtra HC to decide his bail plea in a time-bound manner.
The SC said if there is an extraordinary urgency, the petitioner can always move the concerned bench. “We are sure that if the request is genuine, the concerned Bench will entertain it.”
The SC on Monday sought the Centre’s response on a petition challenging the constitutional validity of a criminal law which requires even an acquitted person to execute a bail bond and furnish sureties before release from jail. The provision – section 437A of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) – requires a person who has been acquitted to furnish a bail bond and sureties, valid for a period of six months, to be able to be released from custody. This is done to ensure he or she is available if the state prefers an appeal against the acquittal.