The Supreme Court directs High Courts to pronounce reserved judgments within three months from the date the orders are reserved, in a ruling addressing delays in the delivery of decisions. The directions are issued amid concern that prolonged non-delivery of judgments causes significant hardship to litigants.
The Court emphasises that matters involving personal liberty receive priority. In bail applications, it orders that bail or suspension of sentence orders should be pronounced on the same day. If such orders are reserved, High Courts must pronounce them and upload the judgment the next day.
The Supreme Court also instructs that the operative part of bail or sentence-suspension decisions must be communicated to jail authorities immediately after the order is pronounced. It further states that undertrials or convicts should be released preferably the same day or, at the latest, the next day, once the order takes effect.
