Supreme Court Expresses Shock At Maharashtra Authorities Not Producing Accused Before Court On 55 Dates; Orders Inquiry

The Supreme Court criticised the Maharashtra Prison authorities for repeatedly failing to produce an undertrial accused before the trial court on a majority of hearing dates.

The Court was dealing with a case where the accused, in custody for more than four years, was not presented before the Trial Court on 55 out of a total of 85 trial dates.

While granting bail to the accused, a bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Prashant Kumar Mishra expressed shock at the failure of the prison authorities to ensure the petitioner's production before the court, terming it a serious violation of fundamental safeguards. The bench directed the designated Head of Department of Prisons of the State of Maharashtra to conduct an inquiry and take action against the officers concerned.

“we direc