The Supreme Court has again strongly criticised the slow pace of the criminal justice system in Maharashtra, pointing out that serious delays are affecting fair trials.

A bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice R. Mahadevan expressed concern while hearing a bail plea. The Court issued a notice and asked the Police Commissioner of Nashik to file a personal affidavit explaining why there has been such a slow pace in a case from 2019.

The Court said:

“One factor, which has seriously made the Court concerned, is the fact that repeatedly, it has been noticing inexplicable and huge delay in trial being conducted, especially, by the State of Maharashtra”, the Court said.

Only One Witness Since 2019:
The Court criticised the prosecution for its inaction. It noted that the FIR was filed in June 2019, but only one witness has been examined so far. The Court said, “In the present case, the FIR is of June, 2019 and still, in the trial, only one witness having been examined, speaks volumes of the conduct of the prosecution”.

The Court directed the Police Commissioner to explain why the trial has not moved forward and to clearly state how each accused is responsible for the delay. The next hearing is on April 10, 2026.

This is not the first time the Supreme Court has raised concerns about delays in Maharashtra. Earlier, it had called the situation in criminal courts a “shocking state of affairs”, noting that hundreds of cases are stuck at the stage of framing charges, some since 2006.

Undertrial Jailed Without Charges:
The Court has also expressed concern in other cases, including one where an undertrial was kept in jail for four years without charges. It has ordered steps to prevent delays caused by accused persons not being produced in court.

It has also pointed out delays in cases under special laws like MCOCA and UAPA, and has called for special courts to ensure protection of rights under Article 21.

2019 Nashik Robbery and Murder:
The incident happened on June 14, 2019. The accused and others allegedly entered a Muthoot Finance branch in Nashik with guns, stole gold items, and shot dead an employee who tried to stop them.

The Bombay High Court denied bail last month. The accused argued that the test identification parade was delayed after his arrest on June 25, that he has been in custody for over six years, and that the trial has barely progressed.

The prosecution opposed this, saying a gun was recovered, bullets matched through ballistic reports, there was CCTV footage, identification in the parade, a confession, and that the accused has a past criminal record. They also said the delay was due to lack of cooperation by the accused and co-accused.

The High Court refused bail, saying the charges were serious and supported by strong evidence.

Case Details: Parmendra @ Gauravsing Rajendra Sinha v. State of Maharashtra, Petition for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 4152/2026