Overview
- Expanding a 1991 case it quashed, the Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Allahabad High Court to file detailed, affidavit-backed data on criminal pendency, undertrials, bail backlogs and judicial vacancies by July 13, 2026.
- The bench said the right to a speedy trial under Article 21 has become hollow in practice and signaled it may craft system fixes for Uttar Pradesh after reviewing statewide numbers on stalled trials and custody lengths.
- Responding to bail delays, a separate Supreme Court bench on Monday told High Courts to list bail matters weekly or at least fortnightly, auto-relist every two weeks, require status reports before the first hearing and curb casual adjournments by governments.
- Closing a suo motu look at a viral Andhra Pradesh courtroom exchange on Monday, the Supreme Court urged High Courts to set up grievance panels with Bar bodies at High Court, district and taluka levels to defuse bench–bar flashpoints early.
- Also on Monday, the Allahabad High Court pressed the UP government and police to fix investigation bottlenecks by considering autonomy for the state Forensic Science Laboratory, filling lab vacancies, adding modern equipment within a year and training police in evidence collection, noting only 8 of 12 labs can run DNA tests today.