The Supreme Court on Monday asked all high courts to provide data on appeals in criminal cases where judgments have been reserved for over four months. Observing that such delay is “very disturbing”, the court underlined the need for mandatory guidelines in this regard.
The court passed the order on a petition filed by four convicts sentenced to life imprisonment lodged in a Jharkhand jail who are awaiting judgment on their appeals since 2022, when orders were reserved. The four were convicted for murder, the fourth was convicted in a rape case.On Monday, a report filed by the registrar general of the Jharkhand high court cited about 56 such cases, including criminal appeals, in which judgments have been reserved for two months or more. The report, presented in a sealed cover, however, did not contain the cases of the four convicts.
“It is very disturbing and we don’t know the circumstances why the high court took so long. We would like to lay down some mandatory guidelines. It cannot be allowed to happen this way,” a bench of justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh said.
Expanding the scope of the proceedings beyond the Jharkhand high court, the bench added: “Having gone through the report of the Registrar General of Jharkhand high court, it seems to us that we must get such report in respect of all cases where judgment is reserved on or before January 31, 2025 and where pronouncement of judgment is still awaited.”
{{/usCountry}}Expanding the scope of the proceedings beyond the Jharkhand high court, the bench added: “Having gone through the report of the Registrar General of Jharkhand high court, it seems to us that we must get such report in respect of all cases where judgment is reserved on or before January 31, 2025 and where pronouncement of judgment is still awaited.”
{{/usCountry}}The court said the reports should to be filed in a month and posted the matter to July. The told the high courts to list the cases awaiting verdicts separately as civil matters and criminal appeals as well as whether they are before a single judge or a division bench.
The convicts’ lawyer Fauzia Shakil pointed to a news report that suggested the Jharkhand high court disposed of 75 criminal appeals since the apex court issued notice on her clients’ petition on April 23.
“If the high court can be so efficient and they can do so much with one notice, we are personally grateful to them,” the top court bench remarked.
The bench took the media report on record and directed the registrar general of the Jharkhand high court to give the list of the 75 appeals along with a copy of the verdict and the date when judgment was reserved. It separately asked the high court to provide details of the cases concerning the four petitioner convicts.
The lawyer said the four convicts have been incarcerated for over 16 years and deserve to be released on bail. The bench said it would consider bail in a hearing next week.
The four convicts lodged in the Birsa Munda jail had asked the top court to protect their fundamental rights of life and liberty, emphasising that three years was too long a period for a judgment to be delivered on their appeal.