Supreme Court grants bail to 75-year-old man convicted in 1983 rape and murder case, citing 40-year trial delay

The Supreme Court granted bail to a 75-year-old man who was found guilty in a 1983 rape and murder case, citing the 40-year length of the trial.

The supreme court requested that the Calcutta High Court grant "out of turn priority" to the resolution of the man's appeal against his conviction due to the "peculiar feature" of the case.

Normally, the top court should not direct a constitutional court or any other court to set a deadline for adjudicating a dispute, according to a bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Pankaj Mithal.

"However, this case is exceptional in that it took forty years for the trial to be over. As a result, we ask the high court to handle the appeal in a timely manner and in compliance with the law, the bench stated in its judgment from September 25.

The man's appeal against the high court's decision to deny his request for bail on May 17 was being heard by the top court.

The high court had noted that the appellant was the victim's maternal uncle and had stated that, given the evidence in the case and the seriousness of the crime, "we do not consider it appropriate to suspend the appellant's sentence." The case involved the violent rape and strangulation death of a girl, as the top court had acknowledged.