Supreme Court asks all High Court judges to submit details of reserved verdicts

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has for the first time asked judges of all high courts to submit details of verdicts that have not been pronounced even three months after they were reserved. A judgment is reserved after conclusion of arguments of the parties involved but it is usually delivered within a few weeks.

All HC judges were apprised of the letter, issued by the registrar of SC, by their concerned registrars. The data of unpronounced judgments reserved for over three months will be compiled and submitted to CJI HL Dattu for perusal, a senior court official said. "The list of all such verdicts will be scrutinised and appropriate directions will be issued," said the official. Legal luminaries view this development as a move to keep a check on delays being caused in pronouncement by HC judges.

An SC bench had said if a judgment, after having been reserved, is not pronounced for long then the case should be reheard or be referred to another bench. "If judges do not pronounce judgment even after three months, the parties... could be permitted to file an application with a prayer for an early order, and such an application should be listed before the judges within two days," Justices KT Thomas and RP Sethi of SC had said in a judgment in a case accusing a division bench of the Patna HC of having taken two years to pass judgment on a criminal appeal.

"If the judgment...is not pronounced within...six months, any of the parties... shall be entitled to move an application before the Chief Justice of HC" seeking withdrawal of the case and mark it to another bench.