Incarceration Without Trial Amounts to Punishment: Supreme Court Grants Bail to Undertrial

The Supreme Court recently granted bail to an accused, observing that nearly two years of custody without the commencement of trial constitutes punishment. 

A bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Prasanna B. Varale set aside a Punjab and Haryana High Court order, noting that none of the 23 proposed prosecution witnesses had been examined since the appellant's arrest in April 2024.

The Court emphasized that while stringent statutes exist, they cannot justify indefinite incarceration.

Reaffirming that prolonged detention violates the right to a speedy trial under Article 21, directing the appellant's release subject to trial court conditions.

[Pardeep Kumar @ Banu v. State of Punjab]