SC raps High Court judges, asks for verdicts to be written clearly

The Supreme Court on Tuesday highlighted the need for the High Court to write verdicts clearly and precisely. The Court said that, “it is not adequate that a decision is accurate, it must also be reasonable, logical and easily comprehensible”.

“A judgment should be coherent, systematic and logically organised. It should enable the reader to trace the fact to a logical conclusion on the basis of legal principles. It is pertinent to examine the important elements in a judgment in order to fully understand the art of reading a judgment,” a bench comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and M R Shah said.

They expressed concern over a verdict delivered by Allahabad HC that granted bail to five life convicts. The bench said the verdict lacked clarity and that it was very unfortunate that the Supreme Court bench has to explain how a judgement is to be written.


“The judgment replicates the individuality of the judge and therefore it is indispensable that it should be written with care and caution. The reasoning in the judgment should be intelligible and logical. Clarity and precision should be the goal. All conclusions should be supported by reasons duly recorded. The findings and directions should be precise and specific. Writing judgments is an art (and) involves skilful application of law and logic,” the bench said.

Besides that, they also acknowledged that judges were overburdened, but stressed that quality should always precede quantity.