Supreme Court Stalls 35-Year-Old Case Against Police Officer

The Supreme Court has extended a stay on legal proceedings involving a police officer embroiled in a lengthy 35-year-old rioting case. This development comes as the court considers dismissing the case solely based on the significant passage of time.

Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Vijay Bishnoi delivered the decision to issue a notice to the government of Uttarakhand after a police officer petitioned against an Allahabad High Court ruling that had denied the quash of the longstanding criminal proceedings. The case, which dates back to 1989, involves charges of rioting and voluntarily causing hurt alongside sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Railways Act.

Given that no prosecution witness has been presented over the decades, the Supreme Court recognized the extraordinary delay in hearing the case and highlighted the feasibility of dismissing the charges on these grounds. The case will be brought again before the court for further hearing on April 29.