New Delhi, March 28 -- The Supreme Court has held that keeping an accused in jail without even commencing trial amounts to punishment, underscoring that delay in criminal proceedings cannot justify prolonged incarceration. Granting bail to a Punjab man accused of extortion and attempted murder, a bench of justices Dipankar Datta and Prasanna B Varale noted that nearly two years had passed since his arrest, with the trial yet to begin and no immediate prospect of conclusion. "Almost two years have passed since the appellant was arrested without trial having commenced and conclusion thereof nowhere being in sight. Incarceration without trial amounts to punishment," the bench observed in its March 13 order, released on Tuesday. The ruling came...