The Supreme Court of India has issued draft guidelines to ensure timely pronouncement of judgments in high courts and trial courts, aiming to enhance accountability and transparency in the judicial system.
The guidelines, proposed by advocate Fauzia Shakil, suggest that judgments be pronounced within a maximum of three months from the date they are reserved, with real-time monitoring of cases on high court websites.
The draft also proposes that bail orders be pronounced on the same day or the next day in cases involving personal liberty, and that the operative part of a judgment with a reasoned order be pronounced within 15 days.
Copies of judgments pronounced in open court should be uploaded within 24 hours, while trial courts should pronounce decisions within 30 days in civil cases, and within 60 days or 90 days in exceptional cases.
The Supreme Court has sought responses from high courts within 10 days on the draft guidelines, which are part of systemic reforms aimed at improving transparency and accountability in judicial functioning.
