Supreme Court grants bail to two Indian Mujahideen 'operatives'; says continued incarceration violates right to liberty
The Supreme Court of India has granted bail to two alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives who have been in custody since 2014. The court cited the excessive delay in trial proceedings as a violation of their constitutional right to liberty under Article 21.
Why it matters
This ruling reinforces the judiciary's stance on the right to a speedy trial, even in high-stakes terror-related cases where incarceration has spanned over a decade.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to two alleged Indian Mujahideen operatives, who were in custody since 2014, saying their continued incarceration was "grossly violative" of the right to liberty enshrined under Article 21 of the Constitution.
A Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta noted that the petitioners — Mohd Saquib Ansari and Waqar Azhar — were incarcerated in connection with a terror case lodged in Delhi for nearly 12 years with no prospect of an early conclusion of the trial.
"The progress of the trial has been extremely slow and there appears to be no prospect of the trial being concluded in the near future," the Bench said in its July 27 order. It also noted that one of the co-accused was already enlarged on bail.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in