Supreme Court Seeks Nationwide Report on Long-Pending Bail Pleas

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday took a stern view of delays in deciding bail applications in High Courts and directed all High Courts to submit a detailed status report on pending cases.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant instructed Registrars General of all High Courts to furnish data on all bail pleas — both regular and anticipatory — filed on or after January 1, 2025. The report must include the date of filing, the date of disposal if decided, and the next scheduled hearing in pending matters.

The Court further directed that details of bail applications filed before January 2025 that are still pending must also be disclosed. This includes petitions seeking suspension of sentence that remain undecided.

The order came during the hearing of a petition challenging repeated adjournments in a bail matter before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Observing that delays in bail hearings have become a recurring issue across several High Courts, the bench noted that the problem is systemic and requires closer monitoring.

The Court pointed out that in some jurisdictions, including the Patna High Court, bail matters are not always listed for urgent hearing, forcing litigants to approach the Supreme Court merely to secure listing of their applications.

The bench said uniform guidelines may be necessary to address the growing backlog and ensure timely adjudication of personal liberty matters. It reiterated that bail cases involve fundamental rights and cannot be allowed to languish indefinitely.

Last year, in the Anna Vaman Bhalerao vs State of Maharashtra case, the Supreme Court had directed High Courts to make every effort to dispose of bail applications within two months of filing. At the same time, it acknowledged that case listing falls within the administrative authority of the respective High Court Chief Justices as masters of the roster.

Wednesday’s directive signals the Supreme Court’s renewed push to enforce accountability and speed in handling bail matters, an area closely tied to the constitutional guarantee of personal liberty.