In order centred on personal liberty, the Supreme Court has observed that despite repeated reminders, High Courts have “seemingly not evolved any robust mechanism for time-bound adjudication of bail matters.” The Bench of the Chief Justice of India, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi, while hearing Special Leave Petition, noted that although listing and roster allocation lie within the prerogative of the Chief Justices, prolonged incarceration due to adjourned bail hearings raises serious constitutional concerns.

Before doing so, the Court has directed the Registrar Generals of all High Courts to furnish complete details of pending anticipatory bail, regular bail and suspension of sentence applications including dates of filing and next hearings covering matters filed on or after 01.01.2025, as well as earlier cases still pending. The data is to be submitted within four weeks. The Court has further directed that if the applications filed prior to 01.01.2025 are still pending, details thereof shall also be furnished.

State Governments have also been directed to ensure full cooperation in time-bound disposal of bail matters and to be ready with records when cases are listed. Registrar Generals have also been directed to circulate the order among all Judges, and Chief Justices have been requested to revisit roster arrangements wherever pendency and allocation of Benches are mismatched.

The broader concern arose from the facts of the case itself. The petitioner’s bail plea before the Punjab and Haryana High Court, listed in December 2025, was adjourned to February 2026, and a request for preponement was declined. Submissions before the Supreme Court pointed to a wider pattern of long adjournments in bail matters in certain High Courts.