The Supreme Court has criticised high court orders that set strict deadlines for completing trials when denying bail applications. It stated that such deadlines are unrealistic, create false expectations for those involved in the case, and disrupt trial courts' functioning. 

The apex court noted that many trial courts already have pending cases in the same category that need attention first. A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih stated, "Before we part with this order, we notice every day that in several orders passed by different high courts while rejecting the bail applications, the high courts are fixing a time-bound schedule for the conclusion of the trials." 

The order was issued by the top court while giving bail to a man who has been detained for two and a half years in connection with alleged counterfeit currency notes. While granting him bail, the court observed that the trial was unlikely to finish soon. It emphasised the established principle that "bail is the rule, and jail is the exception," and decided he deserved to be released on bail. It stated that criminal cases are pending in every court and need to be resolved quickly for several reasons, including the need to comply with penal statutes, lengthy detention, the accused's age, etc. "Only because someone files a case in our constitutional courts, he cannot get out of turn hearing. Perhaps after rejecting the prayer for bail, the courts want to give some satisfaction to the accused by fixing a time-bound schedule for trial," the bench observed.

"Such orders are difficult to implement. Such orders give a false hope to the litigants," said the bench in its November 25 verdict. If an accused has been in jail for a long time without any progress in their trial, the court should grant bail. Simply speeding up the trial is not a proper solution. The Supreme Court referred to a previous decision by a constitutional bench, which emphasised that higher courts should usually avoid setting strict deadlines for lower courts to resolve cases. "A direction which can be issued in exceptional circumstances is being routinely issued by high courts without noticing the law laid down by the constitution bench," the bench said.

The bench asked the Supreme Court registry to send a copy of its order to the registrar generals of all high courts, asking them to share it with all the judges. It ordered that the appellant be brought before the trial court within a week. The court also instructed the trial court to grant bail to the appellant until the trial is over, with appropriate conditions, including cooperation to speed up the case's conclusion.