'Strike Balance in Criminal Appeals': SC Tells High Courts to Avoid Delays

The Court Said Appeals Against Convictions in Cases Where Life Sentences Have Been Imposed Should Not Remain Pending for Over a Decade, Only for the Accused to be Sent Back to Jail Years Later.

- Utkarsh Anand

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has urged high courts across the country to strike a balance between expediting criminal appeals where the accused are in jail and those where they have been released on bail, cautioning that prolonged delays in deciding the latter category of cases raise serious legal and ethical concerns if the accused are to be sent back to jail after decades. A bench led by Justice Abhay S Oka made these observations while decid