The Supreme Court has directed all high courts to ensure that trial proceedings in heinous offences such as murder, rape and dowry deaths, held up because of interim orders, are taken up “immediately”.

The apex court passed the direction while dismissing the appeal filed by Vijay Kumar and his six family members charged with the dowry death of his wife in December 2001.

The top court expressed displeasure over the trial not being held for 23 years in the case due to a stay imposed by Rajasthan High Court on the trial court’s order. It was only on August 1 last year that the high court dismissed the petition of the accused challenging their prosecution. Aggrieved, Vijay and his family members filed the current appeal.

“We have no hesitation in dismissing this petition at the threshold. We are of the view that no error, not to speak of any error of law, could be said to have been committed by the high court in passing the impugned order. However, the matter should not be set at rest, over here. There are many questions begging for answers,” the bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K.V. Viswanathan said in an order.

“This litigation is an eye-opener for all the high courts across the country. If criminal trials in such serious offences remain pending for years together on the strength of interim orders passed by the high courts, it would lead to nothing but mockery of justice.

“In this regard, we request the chief justices of all the high courts to ensure that the petitions wherein interim orders are passed holding up the trials should be immediately taken up for hearing, more particularly in sensitive and serious matters like murder, dowry death, rape, etc,” the top court said.