The Supreme Court has issued new guidelines to reduce delays in judgments, improve transparency and ensure faster relief in bail-related cases.
May 29, 2026: The Supreme Court of India on Friday issued a set of guidelines aimed at addressing delays in the pronouncement of judgments by High Courts after hearings are completed. The court directed that judgments reserved by High Courts should ordinarily be pronounced within three months to ensure timely delivery of justice.
In bail matters, the apex court said efforts must be made to pronounce orders by the next day, and information regarding such decisions should be immediately communicated to jail authorities for swift compliance. The court further stated that undertrial prisoners should ideally be released either on the same day or the next day after a bail order is passed, reinforcing the need for urgency in personal liberty cases.
The Supreme Court also directed that the operative portion of judgments should be pronounced in open court, while detailed reasoned orders must be uploaded within seven days. It added that the date of reserving a judgment should be displayed on High Court websites. In case of non-compliance, matters may be reassigned to another bench, and delays in uploading reasons beyond 30 days could also lead to transfer of cases to different benches to ensure accountability and transparency.