Legal Article
It is a very serious matter that cannot be ever discarded lightly that none other than the Supreme Court itself in a most learned, laudable, landmark, logical and latest judgment titled Sunny Chauhan Vs State of Haryana in Petition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No(s).1613/2026 [Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 22-12-2025 in CRM No.50573/2025 passed by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh] and (IA No. 28404/2026 – Exemption From Filing C/C Of The Impugned Judgment) that was pronounced just recently on 04-02-2026 while underscoring that nothing is more important than bail has minced absolutely just no words to hold in no uncertain terms that it was extremely disappointed to note that bail applications, involving the liberty of individuals were being postponed repeatedly by the High Courts and thus decided to lay down mandatory guidelines in this regard, treating it as its bounden duty. It is certainly most heartening to note that a Bench of Apex Court comprising of Hon’ble The Chief Justice of India Mr Surya Kant and so also Hon’ble Mr Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Hon’ble Mr Vipul M Pancholi has directed the Registrar Generals of all the High Courts to send complete details of the anticipatory bail/regular bail/suspension of sentence applications pending in the respective High Courts, along with the date of filing, date of decision, or the next day of hearing. It is worth paying singular attention that the Bench minced absolutely just no words in underscoring that, “All that we wish to observe at this stage is that we are extremely disappointed to see the manner in which prayers pertaining to the liberty of individuals are being dealt with. We understand that Courts bear the burden of heavy dockets, featuring several matters that demand prioritization. However, among the miscellaneous matters, nothing can be more important than deciding the fate of an application for bail.” It is high time and all the High Courts and so also the District Courts must pay heed without fail to what the Apex Court has held so elegantly, eloquently and effectively in this leading case!
At the very outset, this brief, brilliant, bold and balanced judgment authored by Hon’ble The Chief Justice of India Mr Surya Kant and so also Hon’ble Mr Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Hon’ble Mr Vipul M Pancholi sets the ball in motion by first and foremost putting forth in para 1 that, “This Special Leave Petition contains a slightly unusual prayer. We say so because initially, the petitioner approached the High Court for the grant of regular bail in FIR No. 173 dated 08.08.2025 registered under Sections 109(1), 115(2), 117(2), 190, 191(3), 324(5), and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Section 25 of the Arms Act, read with Sections 16 and 177 of the Motor Vehicles Act, at Police Station Sector-17, Faridabad. He was arrested in connection with this case on 11.08.2025. When his application came up before the High Court for hearing on 08.12.2025, it was adjourned to 20.02.2026, i.e., for a period of more than two months. The petitioner then applied for preponement of the hearing, but vide the impugned order dated 22.12.2025, his prayer was declined on the ground that the bail application of his co-accused had already been dismissed.”
It is worth noting that the Apex Court Bench then points out in para 2 of this robust judgment that, “During the course of hearing and on a query posed by this Court, learned senior counsel for the petitioner submits that numerous bail applications are pending before the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh, where the next dates of hearing are being scheduled months later. Owing to this issue, bail applications remain pending for extended periods of time. On a further query and on an illustrative basis, he has submitted a chart of some of the bail applications which have been pending since May 2025 and have been adjourned to different dates in March 2026. The relevant Records of Proceedings have also been produced in order to display a court-wide pattern of repeated adjournments.”
Most significantly and so also most forthrightly, the Apex Court Bench encapsulates in para 3 of this notable judgment what constitutes the cornerstone of this notable judgment postulating precisely that, “All that we wish to observe at this stage is that we are extremely disappointed to see the manner in which prayers pertaining to the liberty of individuals are being dealt with. We understand that Courts bear the burden of heavy dockets, featuring several matters that demand prioritization. However, among the miscellaneous matters, nothing can be more important than deciding the fate of an application for bail.”
Equally significant is that the Apex Court Bench then points out in para 4 of this refreshing judgment that, “It is equally disturbing to know that in the Patna High Court, bail applications are not listed even for a preliminary hearing for months at a stretch. Various matters have been coming to this Court, merely seeking directions for the pending bail applications to be duly listed before the Patna High Court.”
Most commendably and so also most remarkably, it would be instructive to note that the Bench then hastens to add in para 5 propounding that, “We are conscious of the fact that listing and prioritisation of matters is the exclusive prerogative of the Hon’ble Chief Justices of the respective High Courts, they being the masters of their roster. However, if people continue to languish in jails; their bail applications are not being heard, and there is an air of uncertainty surrounding when they will get to know the fate of their applications, we believe that this Court is under a bounden duty to lay down certain mandatory guidelines. However, before we do so, we consider it appropriate to direct the Registrar Generals of all the High Courts to send complete details of the anticipatory bail/regular bail/suspension of sentence applications pending in the respective High Courts, along with the date of filing, date of decision, or the next date of hearing. Such details shall be furnished, for the time being, in respect of all the applications which came to be filed on or after 01.01.2025. If the applications filed prior to 01.01.2025 are still pending, details thereof shall also be furnished.”
Be it noted, the Apex Court Bench then notes in para 7 of this pragmatic judgment that, “The above-stated information be furnished within a period of four weeks.”
It would be worthwhile to note that the Apex Court Bench then notes in para 8 of this progressive judgment noting that, “All the State Governments are directed to fully cooperate with the High Courts for early and time-bound adjudication of the bail applications/prayer for suspension of sentence. The State counsels should be ready with the relevant information as and when the bail applications are listed for hearing, provided that a copy thereof has been submitted in the office of the learned Advocate General and/or the learned Public Prosecutor at least three days in advance. In such matters, the Investigating Officers or the authorized officer can be permitted to appear online also.”
In addition, the Apex Court Bench then observes in para 9 of this remarkable judgment that, “The Registrar Generals of the High Courts are further directed to circulate this order among the Hon’ble Judges of their High Courts with our fervent appeal to them to expeditiously dispose of the pending bail applications.”
What’s more, the Apex Court Bench then further directs in para 10 of this brilliant judgment that, “The Hon’ble Chief Justices are also requested to revisit their roster/listing arrangements. Wherever they find that there is a mismatch between the total pendency and the Bench allocated for deciding such matters, they may enlarge the roster for listing of the bail matters.”
Furthermore, the Apex Court Bench then observes in para 11 of this pertinent judgment that, “Adverting to the case at hand, we find that the bail application filed by the petitioner is due to be heard on 20.02.2026. We request the Hon’ble Judge to decide the same on merits either on the date fixed or prior thereto, provided that the petitioner seeks preponement of the date.”
Finally, we see that the Apex Court Bench then draws the curtains of this persuasive judgment by holding and directing in para 12 that, “Post the matter on 23.03.2026.”
In a nutshell, we thus see that the Apex Court has made it indubitably clear that it is most extremely disappointed with the High Courts over the inordinate delays in bail matters which directly pertains to the liberty of an individual and pulled them up strongly over this underscoring most explicitly that nothing is more important than bail. It is high time and all the 25 High Courts in India must without fail pay heed most promptly and comply in totality with what the Apex Court has held so clearly, cogently and convincingly in this leading case and give paramount importance to bail matters as has been so rightly urged by the top court in this leading case! There can be absolutely just no denying or disputing it!
Sanjeev Sirohi,