SC quashes criminal case against police officers over 35-year delay in trial

Amit Anand ChaudhryNew Delhi: The first criminal case against a police officer, which had been pending for 35 years, has been dropped due to delays in trial proceedings.A bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and Ujjal Bhuyan said, “We are informed that a total of five accused, including the present petitioner, were prosecuted. Out of the five accused, two co-accused died and two other co-accused were acquitted as the prosecution failed to produce any prosecution witness to record oral evidence.”“Based on the facts and circumstances of this case, especially given the fact that nearly 35 years have passed, we prefer to dismiss the lawsuit on these grounds alone,” the statement said.The officer is facing trial under IPC sections 147 (rioting), 323 (causing hurt) and 504 (insult) and Section 120 (investigation of accident) of the Railway Act.Status disagreement causes delays: UPThe case was registered in 1989 and is currently pending before the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (Railway) at Prayagraj.uttar pradesh Tell SC that the delay is due to a fork The state of Uttarakhand was created in 2000. The state said the accused, who live in Uttarakhand, did not appear in court. The SC last week stayed proceedings against the officer.