The Delhi High Court has taken a stern view of a public interest litigation that sought to fast-track the Red Fort blast trial by imposing a six-month deadline and requiring continuous judicial monitoring. The PIL, filed by Dr. Pankaj Pushkar, requested the formation of a committee to supervise each stage of the proceedings and submit monthly updates to the Court.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela dismissed the plea as premature, noting that the trial had not even commenced. The judges remarked that the petition read more like an academic essay than a legitimate legal grievance, and stressed that the judiciary cannot micromanage criminal proceedings unless there is a concrete violation of rights or undue delay.
The Court emphasised that extraordinary intervention is warranted only when the trial process itself is compromised, not at the outset based on speculation or apprehension. Following the Bench’s observations, the petitioner chose to withdraw the PIL.
he Delhi High Court underscored that public interest litigation cannot be used to prescribe rigid timelines or supervisory mechanisms for criminal trials without a justified legal basis.
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