The Supreme Court has urged High Court judges to streamline court proceedings by limiting the time spent dictating lengthy judgments. On Monday, the court advised that if a judgment’s dictation is expected to exceed 20-25 minutes, only the operative part should be pronounced in court, with detailed reasoning to follow within five days.
This recommendation, made by a bench including Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, seeks to prevent courtroom delays and case backlogs. If judges anticipate that delivering the full judgment immediately is impractical due to time constraints or a heavy caseload, they should reserve the decision after hearing arguments.
Judges are encouraged to evaluate the time it will take to dictate the judgment. If it exceeds 20-25 minutes, pronouncing the outcome without the detailed reasoning is seen as a more efficient use of judicial resources. The court emphasized that this approach, though unconventional, is gaining traction and helps manage the growing dockets across many high courts.
The Supreme Court also noted that reasons for the judgment should be provided promptly, ideally within two to five days, ensuring both transparency and judicial efficiency.
