The Supreme Court has directed a Patna local court to complete the trial within three months in the case of gunning down of the head of a traders’ association in Bihar’s Bihta in 2017.
A bench of justices L Nageswara Rao and Hrishikesh Roy, which had earlier cancelled the bail granted by the Patna High Court to an accused in the murder case, was perturbed
over the slow pace of the
trial.
The top court took note of the submission of lawyer Smarhar Singh, appearing for Ajay Kumar, brother of the deceased trader, that the testimonies of all witnesses have been recorded and moreover, the accused have no witness to produce now in the
case.
“We are informed by learned counsel for the petitioner that the evidence of the prosecution witnesses was recorded prior to 2019.Though time was sought for production of defence witnesses, ultimately, the accused informed the court that they have no witnesses.
“As the evidence of all witnesses has already been recorded, we direct the trial court to complete the trial within a period of three months from today,” the apex court noted this in its order of
January 5.