Quick Take | When justice is delayed

What a man’s arrest 45 years after crime says about India’s justice system

More than 1,50,00 cases are pending in Indian district and high courts for more than 30 years (Photo | AFP)

An outlier case in Madhya Pradesh has reminded everyone of the trouble with justice arriving late. A man was arrested 45 years after a warrant was issued in his name for stealing ₹100 worth of wheat. By the time the law’s long arm got to him, Salim Sheikh was 65 years old. So much toil over such a case triggers sharp intakes of breath in a country where more than 1,50,00 cases are pending in district and high courts for more than 30 years. Perhaps it’s a shade better than the case of Birbal Bhagat, who was acquitted of murder in 2022 after having spent 26 years in a Bihar jail. It highlighted another perversion of justice—three-quarters of those behind bars in India are yet to be sentenced.