Jodhpur, Dec. 3 -- The Rajasthan high court has reprimanded a trial court for undue delay in commencing trial proceedings in an illegal kidney transplant and human trafficking case involving Bangladeshi nationals, stressing that foreign nationals are entitled to a speedy and fair trial under Article 21 of the Constitution. However, the court declined bail for the two Bangladeshi petitioners, who had turned approvers in the case. The bail pleas of Bangladeshi nationals Nurul Islam and Md. Ahsaanul Kobir came before justice Anoop Kumar Dhand on Monday. Registered at Jawahar Circle police station, Jaipur, under various IPC sections, the petitioners were arrested on April 23, 2024, and later cooperated as approvers. Their counsel argued bail was unfairly denied as co-accused had secured regular bail, while the approvers remained in custody. The bench observed: "This Court cannot lose sight of the material aspect of the matter that the petitioners are in custody since April 23, 2024, and they have been charge-sheeted along with other co-accused persons long back and till date, in spite of the passing of more than one and a half years, the charges have not been framed against the accused persons and the trial has not commenced as yet. This Court does not appreciate such an act of the Trial Court. The Trial Court cannot defer the matter from one day to another unnecessarily by entertaining the unwanted requests made by any of the parties and thereby causing unnecessary delay in framing the charges. The Trial Court is expected to consider the material aspect of the matter that some of the accused persons, like the petitioners, are in custody for the last more than one and a half years." "The petitioners are foreign nationals and they are residents of Bangladesh and presently they are in judicial custody since April 2024 in a criminal case. The trial has not commenced as yet and even charges have not been framed in spite of the passing of one and a half years of their judicial custody. They have the fundamental right to speedy trial under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The protection under Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, extends to all persons and this right is not confined to Indian citizens alone and it is available to foreign nationals as well, who are not citizens of India. This right to life and dignity guaranteed under Article 21 is available to all human beings, including foreigners," the bench further stated. The high court directed the trial court to expedite framing of charges and record the statements of the petitioners on priority, emphasising that prolonged judicial delays violate the fundamental rights of foreign nationals in India....