LexSHEIKH JAVED IQBAL @ ASHFAQ ANSARI @ JAVED ANSARI versus STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH
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[2024] 7 S.C.R. 1054 : 2024 INSC 534 Sheikh Javed Iqbal @ Ashfaq Ansari @ Javed Ansari v. State of Uttar Pradesh (Criminal Appeal No. 2790 of 2024) 18 July 2024 [J.B. Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan,* JJ.] Issue for Consideration High Court whether justified in denying bail to the appellant, an under-trial prisoner prosecuted under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 and Penal Code, 1860 who had been in custody for more than nine years. Headnotes† Bail – Denial – When not justified – Constitution of India – Article 21 – Right to speedy trial – Serious charges no ground to deny bail – Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 – SS.16, 43D – Penal Code, 1860 – SS. 489B, 489C – Fake counterfeit Indian currency notes seized from the appellant- accused, a foreign national – In custody as an under-trial prisoner for nine years – Bail denied: Held: An accused or an undertrial has a fundamental right to speedy trial traceable to Article 21 – If the alleged offence is a serious one, it is all the more necessary for the prosecution to ensure that the trial is concluded expeditiously – When a trial gets prolonged, it is not open to the prosecution to oppose bail of the accused- undertrial on the ground that the charges are very serious – Bail cannot be denied only on the ground that the charges are very serious though there is no end in sight for the trial to conclude – In the present case, the appellant has been in custody for more than nine years – Trial likely to take considerable time as only two witnesses have been examined – Impugned order of the High Court set aside and quashed – Appellant granted bail subject to the conditions stipulated. [Paras 22, 34] Penal Statutes – Statutory restrictions – Constitution of India – Article 21 – Infringement – Duty of constitutional court: * Author [2024] 7 S.C.R. 1055 Sheikh Javed Iqbal @ Ashfaq Ansari @ Javed Ansari v. State of Uttar Pradesh Held: Right to life and personal liberty enshrined under Article 21 is overarching and sacrosanct – A constitutional court cannot be restrained from granting bail to an accused on account of restrictive statutory provisions in a penal statute if it finds that the right of the accused-undertrial under Article 21 has been infringed – In that event, such statutory restrictions would not come in the way – Even in the case of interpretation of a penal statute, howsoever stringent it may be, a constitutional court has to lean in favour of constitutionalism and the rule of law of which liberty is an intrinsic part – In the given facts of a particular case, a constitutional court may decline to grant bail – But it would be very wrong to say that under a particular statute, bail cannot be granted. [Para 32] Bail – Denial of bail to an undertrial – Judgment in NIA v. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali reported as [2019] 5 SCR 1060 not a precedent to deny bail to an undertrial: Held: Decision in Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali has to be read and understood in the context in which it was rendered and not as a precedent to deny bail to an accused-undertrial suffering long incarceration with no end in sight of the criminal trial. [Para 28] Case Law Cited Gurwinder Singh v. State of Punjab [2024] 2 SCR 134 : (2024) SCC Online SC 109 – distinguished. NIA v. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali [2019] 5 SCR 1060 : (2019) 5 SCC 1 – explained. Union of India v. K.A. Najeeb (2021) SCC Online SC 50; Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh v. State of Maharashtra [Criminal Appeal No. 2787 of 2024] – relied on. Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee (Representing Undertrial Prisoners) v. Union of India [1994] Supp. 4 SCR 386 : (1994) 6 SCC 731; Shaheen Welfare Association v. Union of India [1996] 2 SCR 1123 : (1996) 2 SCC 616; Angela Harish Sontakke v. State of Maharashtra (2021) 3 SCC 723; Frank Vitus v. Narcotics Control Bureau, Criminal Appeal No. 2814-15 of 2024 – referred to. List of Acts Constitution of India; Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; Penal Code, 1860; Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. 1056 [2024] 7 S.C.R. Digital Supreme Court Reports List of Keywords Bail; Bail denied; Fake counterfeit currency notes seized; Under- trial prisoner; Long incarceration; Prolonged trial; Article 21 of the Constitution of India; Speedy trial; Fundamental right of accused to speedy trial; Serious offence; Serious charges; Right to life and personal liberty; Restrictive statutory provisions; Penal statute; Constitutional court; Constitutionalism; Rule
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