Bhubaneswar, June 2 -- The Orissa High Court has quashed criminal proceedings under the Prevention of Corruption Act against several government officials in a vigilance case dating back to the nineties relating to the alleged embezzlement of Rs 1.50 lakh meant for the installation of shallow tube wells for small and marginal farmers in Jagatsinghpur district's Raghunathpur block.
Setting aside the proceedings, Justice Aditya Kumar Mohapatra held that the extraordinary delay of more than three decades had rendered the continuation of the trial unjust and violative of the accused persons' constitutional right to a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution.
"An inordinate delay of more than three decades subverts the very purpose whi...