Every Court Has High Pendency, Constitutional Courts Should Avoid Fixing Time-Schedule For Cases Unless Exceptional: Supreme Court

Every Courts in the country has a huge pendency and hence the Supreme Court and the High Courts should refrain from fixing a time-bound schedule for disposal of any cases except in extra-ordinary circumstances, observed the Supreme Court recently.

A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Pankaj Mithal made this observation while turning down a plea seeking a direction for disposal of a criminal matter within a fixed time.

The petitioner's grievance was that his bail application, filed in June 2023, was not being taken up by the Bombay High Court. He therefore filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court.

Refusing to entertain his writ petition, the Court observed :

"In every High Court and especially the bigger High Courts, there are large number of Bail Petitions filed and therefore, some delay in disposal of the Bail Petitions is inevitable. If there is an extra ordinary urgency, the petitioner can always move the concerned Bench. We are sure that if the request is genuine, the concerned Bench will entertain it".

Regarding the alternate prayer made by the petitioner to fix a time-line for the hearing of his bail application by the High Court, the Supreme Court said :

"We are of the view that since every High Court and every Court in the country has a huge pendency, the Constitutional Court should avoid temptation of fixing a time-bound schedule for disposal of any case before any Court unless the situation is extra ordinary".

Case Title : Shaikh Uzma Feroz Hussain vs State of Maharashtra

Citation : 2023 LiveLaw (SC) 978

Click here to read the order