Observing that delay causes irreparable loss to litigants, the Supreme Court on Friday directed high courts across the country to pronounce judgements within three months from the date of reserving order.
Underlining that faster decisions are required in cases of personal liberty, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Baghchi said that orders in bail applications should be pronounced the same day, and if they are reserved, they must be pronounced and uploaded the next day.
Issuing a slew of directions, the top court said that order of bail or sentence suspension should be communicated to the jail authorities as soon as it is pronounced and the undertrial/convict should be released preferably the same day or at most the next day.
The Supreme Court guidelines shall operate as "binding directions", to the High Courts to avoid delays in pronouncing judgments in reserved matters. A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi set a timelimit of three months to deliver judgments in matters where it is reserved. The orders in bail applications should be pronounced the same day, and if it is reserved, it must be pronounced and uploaded the next day.
If the bench which reserved the judgment does not deliver the judgment within four months of reserving, an application can be filed before the Chief Justice to withdraw the matter to another bench. Where only the operative part of the judgment is pronounced, the reasoned judgment must be uploaded within fifteen days.
In a matter where the judgment is reserved, the High Court shall endeavour to pronounce the reasoned judgment within three months from the date of reserving judgment. High Courts must display extra promptitude in pronouncing matters concerning personal liberty, regular bail, anticipatory bail etc. Besides,Bail applications should be heard and the order should preferably be pronounced and uploaded the same day.
If it is reserved, it should be pronounced on the next day and uploaded to the website. The orders granting bail or sentence suspension should be communicated to the jail authorities as soon as it is pronounced, and the undertrial/ convict should be released, preferably the same day or at most the next day, unless they are required in any other case or delay in complying with bail conditions. Compliance report in this regard be reported by the trial court to the High Court.
The matter arose from a writ petition filed by four convicts belonging to Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Classes who alleged that their criminal appeals, reserved by the Jharkhand High Court in 2022, remained pending for two to three years without judgment. They argued that such delays violated their right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution, including the right to a speedy trial, which extends to appellate proceedings.
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