SC Nudge Speeds Up Jharkhand High Court
The High Court had come under the Supreme Court’s scrutiny for delays in pronouncing judgments, particularly in criminal matters, including cases involving death sentences and life imprisonment
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2025-11-14 16:17 GMT
New Delhi: The Supreme Court was informed on Friday that the Jharkhand High Court has delivered 32 judgments out of the 61 cases in which verdicts had been reserved for over six months.
The High Court had come under the Supreme Court’s scrutiny for delays in pronouncing judgments, particularly in criminal matters, including cases involving death sentences and life imprisonment.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was told by Senior Advocate Ajit Sinha, “They (the High Court judges) have delivered 32 judgments so far, and the remaining will be completed within a month. The oral message of this court was conveyed to the High Court judges, and they are working on delivering the remaining verdicts.”
The apex court said it would take a holistic view of the matter and posted the case for hearing in January, tagging it with connected matters.
On August 8, the Supreme Court had suggested that Jharkhand High Court judges take leave to focus on writing pending judgments, noting that dozens of cases had remained undecided for years.
It had advised the judges to utilise their sanctioned leave to complete the pending work.