New Delhi, Jan. 9 -- The Supreme Court on Thursday urged the chief justices of all high courts to urgently review criminal cases involving serious offences such as murder, rape and dowry deaths where trials have been stalled for years due to interim orders and expedite them, cautioning that such prolonged stays would amount to a "mockery of justice". A bench of justices JB Pardiwala and KV Viswanathan emphasised that the justice delivery system must balance the rights of the accused with those of victims and their families. "If criminal trials in such serious offences remain pending for years together on the strength of interim orders by high courts, it would lead to mockery of justice. Justice has to be done with all parties and not only with the accused. Justice must be done to the victims and their families too," the bench said. In its order, the bench requested chief justices of all high courts to call for data on interim orders staying criminal trials and to ensure that cases involving grave offences, particularly murder, dowry deaths and rape, are taken up expeditiously. The court specifically flagged situations where interim relief has continued for long periods without effective monitoring. "In short, we request all chief justices to ensure that pending trials within their jurisdiction due to interim orders in serious and high-profile cases, especially in cases of murder, dowry deaths and rape, are take up quickly," it said. The directions came while dealing with what the bench described as a "disturbing" and "painful" case of a dowry death from Rajasthan, where the criminal trial has remained stalled for over two decades because of a stay granted by the high court. According to the record, the deceased, Deepa, was married to petitioner Vijay Kumar in November 2001. Within a year of her marriage, she died in her matrimonial home. On January 10, 2002, an FIR was registered in Ajmer under provisions relating to dowry death and cruelty, based on a complaint by her brother alleging that she was killed by administering poison. Following investigation, a charge sheet was filed and the trial court framed charges against Kumar and his family members. However, in January 2003, the accused approached the Rajasthan high court challenging the framing of charges. In February 2003, the high court stayed further proceedings in the trial. What followed, the bench noted, was an "unfortunate saga". The criminal revision petition remained pending for nearly 22 years. It was taken up for hearing only in August 2023, released for rehearing in March 2024, heard again in July 2024, and finally dismissed on August 1, 2025....