New Delhi, Feb. 12 -- The criminal process itself cannot become a punishment, the Supreme Court has emphasised, cautioning trial courts against permitting prosecutions to proceed in the absence of a prima facie case. Stressing that judges must carefully scrutinise the material before framing charges, a bench of justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh said that allowing a case to go on without legal basis exposes an accused to the "strain, stigma and uncertainty of criminal proceedings without necessity". "Fidelity to the rule of law requires the court to remember that the process itself can become the punishment if this responsibility is not exercised with care," held the bench in its judgment, which was made available on Wednesday. The ...