LANDMARK CASE
Hussainara Khatoon v. Home Secretary, State of Bihar
(1980) 1 SCC 81 · Supreme Court of India · Criminal justice
At a glance
- Citation: (1980) 1 SCC 81
- Court: Supreme Court of India
- Area of law: Criminal justice
- In one line: Yes. Speedy trial is part of Article 21. The Court ordered release of many undertrials and stressed free legal aid.
1 Facts
News reports showed thousands of undertrials in Bihar jails held for years, often longer than the maximum sentence for their alleged offence.
2 Issue
Does Article 21 include a right to speedy trial?
3 What the court decided
Yes. Speedy trial is part of Article 21. The Court ordered release of many undertrials and stressed free legal aid.
4 Why it matters
It began the modern focus on undertrial rights and legal aid.
5 Think about it
Why is delay itself a form of injustice, even if the person is later acquitted?
6 Analyse it yourself
Read the full judgment from an official source or a law database, then brief it in seven steps: facts, issues, arguments, decision, ratio, obiter and significance. Always check the citation before you rely on it.
7 More cases on Criminal justice
- Delhi Domestic Working Women's Forum v. Union of India (1995) 1 SCC 14
- Laxmi v. Union of India (2014) 4 SCC 427
- M.H. Hoskot v. State of Maharashtra (1978) 3 SCC 544
- Mahender Chawla v. Union of India (2019) 14 SCC 615
- Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006) 8 SCC 1
- Prem Shankar Shukla v. Delhi Administration (1980) 3 SCC 526
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A short teaching summary for students. Educational content only, not legal advice.