On 17.08.2012 dismissing the petitions filed by the petitioners observed:
"
25. The learned Senior Counsel would tell us, please don’t look who
caused the delay in completing the trial but only look at whether there is
delay in completion of the trial and if it is there, please put a big “full
stop” for the trial. In our view, this submission of the learned Senior
Counsel cannot be accepted by us, in view of the observations by this Court
in P. Ramachandra’s case (supra). Before parting with the case, we should
certainly give credit to our judicial officers, who have painstakingly
suffered with all the dilatory tactics adopted by the accused in dragging
on with the proceedings for nearly thirty seven years. They are not to be
blamed at all. In fact, they do deserve appreciation while conducting such
trials where one of the accused is not only Bachelor of Laws but also
Bachelor of Literature. We certainly say that our system has not failed,
but, accused was successful in dragging on the proceedings to a stage
where, if it is drawn further, it may snap the Justice Delivery System. We
are also conscious of the fact that more than thirty Judges had tried this
case at one stage or the other, but, all of them have taken care to see
that the trial is completed at the earliest. They are not to be blamed and
certainly the system has not to be blamed, but, positively, somebody has
succeeded in his or in their attempt. The system has done its best, but,
has not achieved the expected result and certainly, will not fit into the
category of cases where (late) N.A. Palkhiwala, one of the most outstanding
Senior Advocates in the Country had said that “...... the law may or may
not be an ass, but in India it is certainly a snail and our cases proceed
at a pace which would be regarded as unduly slow in a community of snails”.
Therefore, we say, we will not buy this argument of the learned Senior
Counsel that there is systemic failure. Therefore, in our view at this
stage the one and the only direction that requires to be issued is to
direct the learned trial judge to take up the case on day to day basis and
conclude the proceedings as early as possible, without granting unnecessary
and unwarranted adjournments."
