In Brief
A father filed a criminal complaint in 2002 alleging his property was illegally transferred through forged signatures while he was on pilgrimage. Despite an FSL report confirming forgery in 2017, the police lost active case files in transit and failed to file formal charges for nearly two decades, despite repeated court orders. The High Court refused to intervene. The Supreme Court held that the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 requires timely investigation completion. It ruled that constitutional courts must intervene when investigative machinery completely fails, rather than passive reliance on lower courts. The Court directed police to file a final report within six weeks and imposed strict disciplinary accountability on defaulting officers.
The lawyer headnote and full judgment text are available to registered users.