The Supreme Court held that any stay of a criminal or corruption trial, or even a civil case, will be valid only for six months.
It means trials cannot be held up for indeterminate periods just because a High Court has granted stay.
A Bench of Justices Adarsh Kumar Goel and Rohinton F. Nariman observed that Proceedings are adjourned sine die on account of stay.
Even after the stay is vacated, intimation is not received and proceedings are not taken up, have often led to delay and denial of the fundamental right to speedy justice.
Supreme Court said that the order to stay trial will be extended after 6 months only in “exceptional cases” and that too in a judicial order which fully explains the reasons for the extension.