A bench of Justice B.S. Chauhan and Justice S.A.Bobde said: “We refer the matter to the high court of Karnataka to decide on the administrative side as to whether, in order to conclude the trial expeditiously as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution requires the extension of the services of the learned Special Judge.”
Noting that the Karnataka government in consultation with the high court was competent to appoint a special judge on contractual basis after his retirement for the period required to conclude the present trial, the court, in its order, said: “Considering the urgency of the matter, we request the High Court of Karnataka to take a decision in this regard as early as possible.”
Restoring Bhavani Singh as SPP, the court said: “The evidence led in the case is very bulky as it runs into 34,000 pages. In case a new judge starts hearing the matter, he is bound to take a long time to understand the factual and legal niceties involved in the case.
Updated on: September 30, 2013 23:46 IST
