The Karnataka High Court has refrained from laying down a fixed time period for completing trials in cases registered under the draconian Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice Suraj Govindaraj dismissed a plea filed by Adv Vaseemuddin A. The plea was filed seeking the establishment of an additional UAPA court in Karnataka because of the high rate of pending UAPA cases, with some, pending for over 12 years.
During the last hearing held on March 2, it was brought to the court’s attention by the Registrar General that out of the 4 courts dealing with UAPA cases, 2 are vacant, for which concurrent charge is held by other judicial officers. The court has thus directed the Registrar General of the court to take steps to transfer cases pending before Bengaluru Urban District Court to Special Court (CCH 50) for timely disposal. It also directed that a judicial officer be appointed to preside over CCH-50 so that some pending cases in Bengaluru Urban District can be transferred to the designated special court.
According to The New Indian Express, the court has also directed that 56 UAPA cases pending before Bengaluru Urban District be transferred to the designated special court (CCH-50) for which judicial officer has been appointed, after the court’s previous order.
During a hearing in February, the counsel for the petitioner, Mohammed Tahir had argued that despite provisions for a speedy trial, witnesses are not being examined promptly, nor is there any pressure put on prosecution by the presiding judges to speed up the trial. He urged the Court to pass an order under section 309 (power to postpone or adjourn proceedings) of the Code of Criminal Procedure but the court refused to do so and remarked, “We cannot pass an order under section 309. 309 is an ideal provision but we don’t live in an ideal world.”
