NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday directed high courts and trial courts to give priority to bail and anticipatory bail pleas, setting a two-month timeline for their disposal. It held that undue delays in deciding such matters amount to a violation of fundamental rights under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
A bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan said courts cannot keep citizens’ liberty “in abeyance” by letting bail pleas linger. The court was hearing a case in which the Bombay High Court took nearly six years to decide an anticipatory bail application filed in 2019. Although the SC upheld the HC’s eventual rejection, it criticised the inordinate delay.
“Applications concerning personal liberty cannot be kept pending for years while applicants remain under a cloud of uncertainty. Prolonged delay not only frustrates the object of the Code of Criminal Procedure but also amounts to denial of justice,” the bench observed.
The apex court stressed that bail decisions are typically straightforward, based on case-specific facts, and should not be deferred indefinitely. It asked high courts to issue administrative directions to subordinate courts to prioritise liberty-related matters and avoid unnecessary adjournments.
“While docket explosion remains a chronic challenge, cases involving personal liberty deserve precedence,” the bench said, warning that keeping bail pleas pending is “contrary to constitutional ethos.”
The court urged HCs to devise mechanisms to prevent accumulation of pending bail matters, ensuring that liberty is not left hanging “like a sword of Damocles” over applicants.
