https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=295042 Article 21 protects a right to speedy investigation as well as speedy trial, and criminal proceedings may be quashed where delay, missing essential records, and the circumstances of the case show that continued investigation would be futile, oppressive, or an abuse of process. The governing test requires contextual balancing of the seriousness of the accusation, the stage of proceedings, responsibility for the delay, and the prejudice caused by continuation. On the stated facts, the investigation had remained stalled for years because the original records were unavailable despite repeated requisitions, and the related departmental inquiry had ended in exoneration for want of proof. The FIR was therefore liable to be quashed. en-us Tue, 09 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0530 Mon, 17 May 2021 09:49:04 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=295042 Article 21 protects a right to speedy investigation as well as speedy trial, and criminal proceedings may be quashed where delay, missing essential records, and the circumstances of the case show that continued investigation would be futile, oppressive, or an abuse of process. The governing test requires contextual balancing of the seriousness of the accusation, the stage of proceedings, responsibility for the delay, and the prejudice caused by continuation. On the stated facts, the investigation had remained stalled for years because the original records were unavailable despite repeated requisitions, and the related departmental inquiry had ended in exoneration for want of proof. The FIR was therefore liable to be quashed. Case-Laws Indian Laws Tue, 09 Jul 2013 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=295042