The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday flagged concerns about the heavy backlog of bail and anticipatory bail applications before several High Courts across the country [Sunny Chauhan vs State of Haryana].

A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi was hearing a case raising concerns regarding the pendency of such cases before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

During the hearing, the Court noted that the situation was dire at various High Courts and expressed its disappointment at the apparently lax manner in which matters of personal liberty were being handled.

"We are extremely disappointed to see how the prayers pertaining to liberty of individuals are not being entertained. Dockets may be heavy and there may be matters requiring consideration, but among miscellaneous matters there can be nothing more important than the prayer of grant or refuse bail," CJI Kant said.

During the hearing, the petitioner's counsel handed over some charts to show that several bail pleas before the Punjab and Haryana High Court have been pending since May 2025 and have since been repeatedly adjourned.

The top court said that High Court Chief Justices ought to take steps to address the situation.

It also noted that in the Patna High Court, petitions have been filed over the non-listing of bail petitions.

"We expect High Court Chief Justices to take remedial action so that High Courts can decide pleas in a reasonable time," the CJI said.

CJI Kant also remarked that the Supreme Court's orders for speedy disposal of bail pleas seem to not have had any real impact and that High Courts have evidently not evolved their own mechanism for time-bound adjudication.

The Bench added that while listing of cases is the exclusive prerogative of the Chief Justice of each court in their role as "master of the roster", the Supreme Court may step in to issue guidelines.

"We are conscious of the fact that listing is the exclusive prerogative of the Chief Justices since they are the masters of the roster. The people are languishing in jail, and bail pleas are not heard and there is complete uncertainty as to when they will know the fate of their application. This court is under the bounden duty to issue certain mandatory guidelines," the Court said.

However, before issuing guidelines, the Court deemed it fit to direct Registrar Generals of every High Court in the country to submit details of all anticipatory and regular bail pleas pending before their respective courts.

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