Mention dates of reserving, pronouncing and uploading of verdicts, SC tells high courts

Faced with inordinate delay in pronouncement of judgments by some high court judges, the Supreme Court has asked all the 25 high courts across India to mention dates of reserving, pronouncing and uploading of verdicts in certified copies.

A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N Kotiswar Singh asked high courts to modify their existing practice/formats within four weeks to ensure compliance.

The Bench also asked high courts to specify if the pronouncement was of the operative part only or the full judgment was pronounced. Where only the operative part of a judgment is pronounced, reasons ought to follow within five days of the pronouncement, the top court said, posting the matter for further consideration on November 10.

The top court has been dealing with petitions complaining that