asian resurfacing judgment supreme court
stay on trial proceedings india
delay in criminal trial supreme court judgment
cbi case delay ruling 2018
interim stay orders and trial delay
Case Summary: Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency Pvt. Ltd. v. CBI
Citation: (2018) 16 SCC 340 | AIR 2018 SC 2039
Date of Decision: 25 April 2018
Court: Supreme Court of India
Bench: Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman
Case No: Criminal Appeal Nos. 1375-1376 of 2013
[Judgment Source] https://www.courtkutchehry.com/Judgement/Search/AdvancedV2?docid=2362653
Law Points Raised:
- Whether prolonged stays in criminal trials due to interim orders from higher courts should be discouraged.
- Whether trial court proceedings can continue despite higher courts summoning the original trial records.
- Procedural clarity regarding management of case records between trial and appellate/revisional courts.
Ratio Decidendi:
- Unnecessary delay in criminal trials due to stay orders from higher courts must be avoided to uphold the right to speedy trial.
- Original trial records should remain with the trial court to ensure proceedings are not stalled; scanned copies can be shared with higher courts.
- Summoning of original records by appellate or revisional courts should be done only when absolutely necessary and records must be promptly returned.
Final Ruling:
The Supreme Court upheld the order framing charges and directed the trial court to proceed with the case. All contentions were left open for the trial court to decide. It directed all courts to retain original records in trial courts and use scanned or photocopied records for higher court references to avoid delay.
Key Paragraph References:
- 2 – Affirmation of the lower court’s order on framing charges
- 3 – Direction to proceed with the trial without delay
- 4–5 – Directions on handling original records and scanned copies
- 6 – Circulation to all High Courts for compliance