SC directs High Courts to swiftly decide bail applications

New Delhi, Jan 20: The Supreme Court in a recent order directed all the courts to expeditiously deliver judgments and ensure disposal of the bail applications.

A bench comprising Justices Bela Trivedi and Satish Chandra Sharma directed that High Courts should follow the directions and guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in various decisions.

As per Live Law, the Court also left it to the High Courts to evolve a mechanism for speedy disposal of bail applications.

The direction of the Apex Court came in light of the delay caused by the Patna High Court in rendering a judgment on an anticipatory bail application, it said. “The bail application was heard by a single-judge bench of the High Court and was reserved for orders on 07.04.2022. However, the bench released the judgment almost after one year i.e., on 04.04.2023. Last year, the Court had sought a report from the Registrar General of the Patna High Court, and expressed its surprise for reserving a judgment for a year. When the matter was called on for hearing on January 17, the Court, after perusing the report submitted by the Registrar General of the Patna High Court, noted that there has been a delay of about one year in passing a judgment after it was reserved,”the report said.