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A Supreme Court bench observed that bail applications directly concern the right to personal liberty of an individual and cannot be left pending for years.
The Supreme Court Of India. (PTI/File)
The Supreme Court on Friday directed High Courts and trial courts to dispose bail and anticipatory bail applications within a short time frame, preferably within three to six months, to avoid keeping them pending for years and keeping applicants under uncertainty.
“High Courts as well as subordinate courts must necessarily take bail and anticipatory bail applications for disposal within a short span of time, preferably within 3 to 6 months,” said a bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan.
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The bench observed that such applications directly concern the right to personal liberty and cannot be left pending for years while the applicants continue to remain under uncertainty. “Applications concerning personal liberty cannot be kept pending for years,” the Court said.
The judges also noted that a prolonged delay in the disposal of bail applications will not only go against the core of the Code of Criminal Procedure, but also amount to a denial of justice that is contrary to the constitutional ethos.
The court said that all bail and anticipatory bail applications must be decided expeditiously on their own merits and not be allowed to languish. It also criticised the Bombay High Court for keeping bail applications for the applicants accused of forgery and illegal transfer of land for six years.
“We have deprecated this practice,” the court said in the Bombay HC case, where an anticipatory bail application was filed in 2019 and was kept pending in the High Court till 2025.
The Bombay High Court had rejected anticipatory bail pleas of three accused on charges related to forgery and illegal transfer of land. Two of the accused filed the present appeals against the order.
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
September 12, 2025, 15:50 IST
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