‘Court duty-bound to protect rights of foreigners too’: Chinese national gets bail in Vivo case

Trial courts are duty-bound to ensure the fundamental rights of individuals, be it an Indian citizen or a foreign national, are not violated, a Delhi court said while granting bail to a Chinese employee of Vivo India in a ₹20,000-crore money laundering case. It said, “Criminal law is best administered when the inconvenience it leaves on the personal life of an accused, even due to delay in trial, is least, lest the faith on constitutional principles emanating from the judicial interpretation of Article 21 will be rendered farcical.” The observations were part of an order granting bail to one Guangwen alias Andrew, who was an admin manager and human resources department employee at Vivo’s Greater Noida factory since 2016. She referred to the Supreme Court verdict granting bail to AAP leader Manish Sisodia in the Delhi excise policy case and subsequent judgments that reiterated reading of principles of liberty under Article 21 into section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure and section 45 of PMLA. The judge said, “Undoubtedly, the constitutional powers to enforce remedies under Article 32 & 226 against breach of fundamental rights are solely vested with Supreme Court and high court but at the same time all the courts including the trial courts are mandated to adhere to protect and enforce the constitutional rights of an individual per se.” Our criminal justice administration, nay even the criminal justice system developed by law, holds the right to speedy trial as one of the important facets, she added.