New Delhi, Dec. 12 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday directed all high courts and states to fast-track trials under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), observing that terror cases must be taken up "with efficacy and expediency".

A bench of justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh stressed that the State, while deploying the full force of anti-terror legislation, must also guarantee that the legal process "starts and concludes" without delay. "It is important that the State.also ensures that the process of law against them starts and concludes with efficacy and expediency, be it investigation or trial," the court said.

The directions came as the bench heard an appeal by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the gra...