Right to speedy trial and humane prison restraint: under-trial delay and leg irons were directed to stop immediately.

Prolonged incarceration of under-trial prisoners without meaningful trial progress was treated as a violation of the constitutional right to speedy trial under Article 21, and the trial was directed to begin immediately and proceed day to day with legal aid at State cost. Continued use of leg irons and requiring under-trial prisoners to work outside jail walls was treated as contrary to prison regulations, civilized norms, and prior restraint principles, and the Superintendent was directed to remove the leg irons and stop such work.

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Issues: (i) whether the prolonged incarceration of under-trial prisoners without effective progress in trial violated the right to speedy trial; (ii) whether under-trial prisoners could be kept in leg irons and made to work outside jail walls.

Analysis: The order treated the extraordinary delay in commencement and progress of the Sessions trial as a serious violation of the constitutional guarantee of speedy trial implicit in Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It also treated the continued use of leg irons on under-trial prisoners and the extraction of work from them as contrary to prison regulations, civilized norms, and the earlier ratio governing restraints on prisoners.

Conclusion: The Sessions Judge was directed to take up the trial immediately and proceed day to day, legal aid was ordered at State cost, the Superintendent was directed to remove leg irons and stop taking work from the under-trial prisoners, and notice was issued to the State for further information and hearing.

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