Terming this as ‘identified ailment’, the SC on Tuesday flagged the practice of reserving judgments for months by high courts without making them public which it asserted must be eradicated, while highlighting the need to ensure timely delivery of justice.
In a stern message to High Courts across the country, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that the judges must end the practice of reserving judgments and then failing to deliver or make them public for months.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipin M Pancholi said such delays cannot be allowed to continue at the cost of justice."We have broadly two types of judges. One is the hardworking judge who will hear everybody and reserve 10-15 matters even. There are some judges who after this (hearings), don't deliver the judgments. We are not on anyone individually. This is a challenge before the judiciary and this is an identifiable ailment and it needs to end. It cannot be allowed to spread more for interest of consumers of justice," CJI Kant remarked.
The Court was hearing an application complaining of delays in the upload of a High Court judgment. The application said that the Jharkhand High Court had pronounced the judgment in December 2025, but the ruling was yet to be uploaded on its website or released to the litigant's counsel."Some message has to go. This is playing with majesty of law," Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the applicant, said.The Court agreed and highlighted another trend of judges keeping the matters pending for further directions.
"There is another trend.. where arguments are done. It is again posted for further directions. Again, a ceremony happens where parties appear. Again, some arguments and then again 'post for next date,'" CJI Kant said.Rohatgi remarked that such practices were a discredit to the judicial system."Why reserve matters when you cannot deliver judgments? This trend of posting for clarifications etc. needs to stop. Some direction has to go to the High Courts," the senior counsel said.
Rohatgi added that his client felt the High Court decision was a reaction to him having earlier approached the Supreme Court."My client had approached the Court and then his writ was dismissed. He told me that, maybe it was the case because he came to SC and rubbed the (High Court) judge in the wrong way," he said.CJI Kant observed that a litigant will naturally have many apprehensions in his mind. He added that the issue of delay would be discussed with High Court Chief Justices this weekend.
"On February 7 and February 8, we are meeting all High Court Chief Justices. We will discuss this among other agendas. We will try to find a solution so that such avoidable litigation ends," the CJI said.CJI Kant, who earlier was a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court, also revealed that he and his fellow judges would deliver judgments within three months after conclusion of arguments."In my 15 years as a High Court judge, never ever did we reserve a judgement and not deliver judgment within three months," the CJI said.Following the exchange, the Court directed the Jharkhand High Court to ensure that the judgment referred to in the application is made available this week.
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