The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked a trial court here to give the reason for not concluding trial in the 2008 murder case of TV journalist Soumya Viswanathan.
Justice Mukta Gupta directed the city police to file a status report before indicating the reason for the delay even after nine and a half years passed since the chargesheet was filed.
“The trial court will also send the latest report on why even after almost nine and a half years since the chargesheet was filed, the trial has not concluded,” the court said.
The High Court’s direction came on a plea by one of the accused, Baljeet Malik, facing trial in the Soumya murder case, seeking to expedite and conclude the trial in a fixed time frame on day-to-day basis.
Malik also sought a compensation of ₹1 crore from the authorities for ‘unreasonable and inordinate’ delay in investigation and trial of the case.
Soumya was shot dead in the small hours of September 30, 2008, while returning home in her car from office.
During the hearing, Malik’s counsel submitted that his client was in jail since 2009 and the prosecution had cited 88 witnesses, of which approximately 45-46 have been examined till now.
The counsel said it will take another four to five years to complete the trial.
Malik was arrested in the present case on March 28, 2009, and since then he has been languishing in jail.
His plea submitted that more than nine and half years is over since the date of his arrest but the government has not been able to conclude the trial of the present case so far.
‘Speedy trial’
“Speedy trial is guaranteed as a fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. It is an essential part of Right to life and liberty guaranteed and preserved under our Constitution,” his plea said.
“The unreasonable delay in investigation and trial of the present case is not only prejudiced the right of the petitioner but also the right of family of deceased,” it said.
Malik along with two others — Ravi Kapoor and Amit Shukla — were earlier convicted in the 2009 IT executive Jigisha Ghosh murder case.