India Supreme Court sets 3‑month judgment deadline, bail

In a landmark move to address systemic delays, the Supreme Court of India has issued binding directives to all High Courts, mandating that reserved judgments be pronounced within three months. The court also established strict timelines for bail matters, emphasizing that justice delayed is justice denied, particularly in cases involving personal liberty.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, alongside Justice Joymalya Bagchi, issued the comprehensive guidelines. The court stated that judgments reserved after hearings must ordinarily be delivered within three months from the date of reservation. If this deadline is exceeded, the matter must be brought to the attention of the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court. Should the judgment not be delivered within an additional two weeks, the case may be reassigned to another bench.

The directives place special focus on expediting bail proceedings. The Supreme Court stated that bail applications should ideally be decided on the same day. If an order is reserved, it must be pronounced and uploaded by the following day. To ensure swift relief, the court ordered that bail orders be communicated to jail authorities on the same day...