Taking suo motu cognizance of a news report about a 70-year-old man languishing in a jail in Faizabad for 38 years without trial, the Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Uttar Pradesh Government and the Registrar General of Allahabad High Court.

A Division Bench, headed by Chief Justice Y K Sabharwal, asked the Uttar Pradesh government and Allahabad High Court Registrar General to file replies by next Monday.

Jagjivan Ram Yadav is in jail since 1968 when he allegedly killed his neighbour's wife. The trial court has rejected his bail application as all records relating to his case were missing from the police files.