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TMI Blog2001 (2) TMI 1055X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n the case charge-sheeted, dismissed the writ petition solely on the ground that in a similar case the High Court refused to countenance similar contention. 3. The facts, barely necessary for disposal of these appeals, can be stated thus: Appellant Niranjan Hemchandra Shashittal is a Government servant who attained the rank of Deputy Commissioner in the Department of Prohibition and Excise of the Maharashtra Government (he will hereinafter be referred to as 'the appellant-public servant'). Appellant Seeta Hemchandra Shashittal who is now aged 83, and Shanta Subarao Shirali, who is now aged 81, are the mother and mother-in-law of the appellant-public servant, respectively. His wife Anuradha is also an appellant as she too was arrayed as accused. 4. On the basis of some information received by the Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB for short) a preliminary enquiry was conducted and on 26.6.1986 an FIR was lodged against the appellant-public servant for the offence under Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947. This was immediately followed by raids conducted at the places which the ACB officials believed to be the buildings of the appellant-public servant situat ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rt dismissed the writ petition merely because two other writ petitions filed by some others, in some other cases were dismissed. The entire judgment of the Division Bench in the present writ petition is in a cryptic form and the same is extracted below: In view of the common order passed in Criminal Writ Petition No. 1642 of 1999 and Criminal Writ Petition No. 1742 of 1999, this petition stands disposed of accordingly. 8. As a copy of the said common order was produced by the appellants we could peruse the same, but the fact situations in those other cases were vastly different from the present case, except the common factor that offences alleged were under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Of course, learned counsel for the appellants made a plea before us to remand the writ petition to the High Court for fresh disposal. But we refrain from adopting that shortcut, lest, that would further protract the already delayed case. 9. Dr. Rajeev Dhawan, who argued for the old lady appellants, divided the post FIR period of the present case into three different stages. First is the period from 1986 to 1990 which is claimed to be the period taken for investigatio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pleting investigation was recognised as a ground for quashing criminal proceedings. The following observation was made by the learned Judges in the said decision: There is no denying the fact that a lethargic and lackadaisical manner of investigation over a prolonged period makes an accused in a criminal proceedings to live every moment under extreme emotional and mental stress and strain and to remain always under a fear psychosis. Therefore, it is imperative that if investigation of a criminal proceedings staggers on with tardy pace due to the indolence or inefficiency of the investigating agency causing unreasonable and substantial delay resulting in grave prejudice or disadvantage to the accused, the court as the protector of the right and personal liberty of the citizen will step in and resort to the drastic remedy of quashing further proceedings in such investigation. 14. Nonetheless, learned Judges hastened to add that it is not possible to formulate inflexible guidelines or rigid principles of uniform application for speedy investigation or to stipulate any arbitrary period of limitation within which investigation in a criminal case should be completed. 15. The ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... were slightly modified, those directions need be applied during the post charge period. The trial was explained in the said decision as covering the period commencing from recording the plea of the accused. 18. With the above legal position in mind we have to analysis this case to find out whether the delay involved in the investigation have impaired the fundamental rights of the appellants which is enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. Viewing the investigation in this case from a realistic angle it has spread over to a period of four years i.e. from June 1986 to July 1990. The Assistant Commissioner of Police attached to the ACB who has sworn to an affidavit before the High Court in answer to the averments contained in the Writ Petition, has stated that the case involves voluminous records as well as a large number of properties which are situated at various places and that hundreds of documents regarding shares, debentures, fixed deposits and receipts pertaining to hundreds of companies were also to be scrutinized. According to him such a heavy work turned out to be a time consuming job. It is not disputed that the documents sought to be produced by the prosecution ru ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gainst those two ladies. First is, the materials are too insufficient to prove that those two old ladies intentionally abetted the public servant in acquiring assets which are disproportionate to his known source of income. If that is the position, why should those two old ladies be compelled to embark upon a trial which, in all probabilities, cannot end in conviction against them, even assuming that the octogenarian ladies would be able to survive till the end of the trial. Second is, the trial is not likely to end within one or two years. Even if the Special Court would strictly adhere to the directions issued by this Court in Rajdeo Sharma's case (supra) we reasonably foresee that the prosecution would be able to complete the evidence only within the farthest time permitted in Rajdeo Sharma as we can have a glimpse of the volume of documents and of the evidence to be adduced by the prosecution. We feel that it would be unfair and unreasonable to compel the two ladies, who by the advancement of old age would possibly have already crossed into geriatric stage, to stand the long trial having no reasonable prospect of ultimate conviction against them. We are, therefore, inclined ..... 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