New Delhi, Feb. 25 -- A man accused of murder was freed by the Supreme Court after 21 years of legal struggle, underlining the grim reality of judicial delays in India. What makes this case particularly striking is that the appeal remained pending before the Supreme Court for over 13 years, with the judgment reserved for nearly 11 months before being delivered.

Md Bani Alam Mazid was arrested in August 2003 following allegations of kidnapping and murder of a minor girl, who was 16 years old.

The sessions court in Kamrup convicted him in 2007, sentencing him to life imprisonment.

In 2010, the Gauhati High Court upheld the conviction, leading Mazid to challenge the verdict in the Supreme Court in 2011.

When his appeal was first taken up...