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The Supreme Court has held that prolonged incarceration of undertrial prisoners violates the constitutional principles of dignity and liberty as it diluted a bail condition of a Nigerian national to produce a certificate of assurance from High Commission of appearance, for ensuring his presence during the trial in a drug trafficking case.

A bench of Justices Hrishikesh Roy and Pankaj Mithal allowed an appeal filed by Ejike Jonas Orji against the specific condition imposed by Delhi High Court in its order passed on June 13, 2022.

The court also noted that the petitioner has been in jail for over nine years.

The petitioner was aggrieved by the condition imposed by the High Court that he shall not be released on bail without such a certificate of assurance from the High Commission of Nigeria.

His counsel Adarsh Priyadarshi, contended the condition caused serious prejudice as he is a Nigerian citizen and the High Commission of Nigeria is unlikely to grant him the certificate of assurance.

The appellant was arrested on June 02, 2014 and he has been under incarceration for last around nine years and three months. 

His counsel said even though the appellant is a foreign citizen, he is married to a citizen of India and the couple have a child. Both his wife and the child are residing in Delhi.

Although the appellant is a foreign citizen, he has roots in Indian Society, he said.

Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj, appearing for the Narcotics Control Bureau, contended the bail condition was imposed by the High Court by following the rulings of this Court in Supreme Court Legal Aid Committee representing undertrial Prisoners Vs. Union of India & Ors (1994).

After going through the submissions, the bench said the liberty of an accused who is facing prolonged trial deserves attention of the court. 

"Admittedly in the course of last seven years, the trial could not be concluded and we are informed that out of twenty witnesses, only thirteen have been examined so far. We are also informed that the Special Court in Delhi where the trial is being conducted is overloaded with about 400 trial cases," the bench said.

"Prolonged incarceration of undertrial prisoners violates the constitutional principles of dignity and liberty. In this case, even though bail was granted, the accused could not be released due to an onerous condition," the bench said.

The bench also cited the judgement of the Supreme Court in Hussainara Khatoon v Home Secy, State of Bihar (1980) where it was held that Article 21 includes within its ambit the right to speedy trial. It was further held that the procedure under which a person is deprived of personal liberty should be “reasonable, fair and just”.

The bench also pointed out this Court recently in Mohd Muslim @ Hussain v State (NCT of Delhi) (2023), dealing with bail plea of an undertrial prisoner, also an accused under the NDPS Act,1985 reflected on the urgency to ensure that trials involving special laws with stringent provisions are taken up and concluded speedily.

Case Title: Ejike Jonas Orji Vs. Narcotics Control Bureau

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