NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday suggested that keeping in view of delays in cases under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, there was an urgent need to set up exclusive special courts to deal with them.
The top court was concerned about prolonged trials and long undertrial incarceration of accused persons in these matters, which led it to suggest the creation of special courts to expeditiously handle UAPA and NDPS cases.
Noting that delays raise serious concerns under Article 21, a two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that while allegations may be grave, “there are questions of liberty; these issues do arise before us.”
The court requested the presence of all State Advocate Generals to assist in finalising a framework and fixed a further hearing for May 11, 2026.
The court was compelled to make these suggestions after being told that several accused have remained in custody for years due to the slow pace of trials. It felt that the absence of dedicated courts causes fragmentation, as courts handle multiple categories of cases, slowing proceedings.
The bench was hearing a plea seeking the creation of special exclusive courts for NDPS, UAPA and related matters involving prolonged trials and undertrial incarceration.
For effective functioning, the court suggested to the Centre that “if your funding scheme addresses UAPA, it can have a beneficial impact irrespective of whether NIA or the State prosecutes.”
It also stressed that special courts must function exclusively to deal with such cases. “…how to ensure they are able to take up only exclusive cases?…Once a sessions trial would commence, it would continue on a day-to-day basis unless concluded,” it said.
The court said these courts should be within the same judicial complex for ease of access.On infrastructure, it referred to a Union scheme providing Rs 1 crore as non-recurring and Rs 1 crore as recurring expenditure per court, including the staff.
The bench highlighted the importance of appointing experienced judicial officers and dedicated prosecutors.
Also in top court
NCLAT told to decide on Supertech projects
The SC on Monday asked the NCLAT to take an expeditious decision on amalgamating the remaining 14 housing projects of debt-ridden Supertech under a court-monitored framework to ensure completion and end homebuyers’ woes. The NCLAT is likely to take up the matter on April 24. Earlier, it upheld an NCLAT order directing NBCC to complete 16 of 30 projects.