Overview
- The Supreme Court issued binding nationwide directions on Friday that require High Courts to pronounce reserved judgments within three months of reservation.
- The order demands urgent handling of bail and liberty cases so orders are ideally heard, pronounced and uploaded the same day and, if reserved, pronounced and uploaded by the next day.
- Courts may announce the operative part first in urgent cases but must upload the reasoned judgment within seven days and no later than 15 days in exceptional situations, with open‑court reasoned judgments uploaded within 24 hours.
- High Court registries must add reservation, pronouncement and upload dates to case records, send automated monthly alerts to benches and chief justices, and place matters before chief justices for reassignment if timelines are missed.
- The measures give litigants clear remedies to seek early pronouncement or transfer of cases when delays persist and aim to reduce prolonged detention by forcing faster communication of bail and suspension orders to jail and trial courts.