New Delhi, May 5, 2025 — The Supreme Court of India has expressed serious concern over prolonged delays in pronouncing judgments that have been reserved for months, particularly highlighting the situation in the Jharkhand High Court, where 67 criminal cases remain undecided despite verdicts being reserved over a month ago.
A bench headed by Justice Surya Kant has directed all High Courts across the country to submit a status report within one month on all cases where judgments were reserved on or before January 31, 2025 and are still pending.
“Unacceptable Delay,” Says Apex Court
During the hearing, the Supreme Court observed that the long delay in delivering reserved judgments is highly troubling. The bench noted that such delays undermine the justice delivery system and indicated that it may soon issue binding guidelines to prevent similar delays in the future.
“It is a matter of deep concern that despite hearings being concluded and judgments reserved, final orders are not being delivered even after considerable time,” the Court remarked.
Jharkhand High Court Under Scrutiny
The case that triggered the Supreme Court’s intervention was a petition filed by four convicts serving life imprisonment, who stated that the Jharkhand High Court reserved its decision but failed to pronounce the judgment, thereby delaying their right to appeal for sentence reduction.
According to the Registrar General of the Jharkhand High Court, from January 2022 to December 2024, the Division Bench heard 56 criminal appeals and reserved judgment on all of them, but has not delivered any verdict yet. Additionally, the Single Bench reserved judgment on 11 criminal appeals, which also remain pending.
Supreme Court’s Next Steps
Taking a serious view of the matter, the Supreme Court has indicated that it will consider laying down uniform norms for timelines in delivering reserved judgments. The Court emphasized that justice delayed in post-hearing judgment delivery is justice denied.
All High Courts are now required to:
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Identify cases where judgments were reserved on or before January 31, 2025
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Submit a detailed status report to the Supreme Court within one month
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Specify reasons for the delay, if any, in each case
Bhupendra Singh Chundawat is a seasoned technology journalist with over 22 years of experience in the media industry. He specializes in covering the global technology landscape, with a deep focus on manufacturing trends and the geopolitical impact on tech companies. Currently serving as the Editor at Udaipur Kiran, his insights are shaped by decades of hands-on reporting and editorial leadership in the fast-evolving world of technology.