The Delhi High Court held that bail applications must not remain pending for long periods, as such delay itself is a trauma for the incarcerated accused and a violation of fundamental rights

The FIR was registered for offences under Sections 302, 307 and 34 of the IPC. The accused/applicant had approached the High Court after his bail application allegedly remained pending for 25 months before the trial court despite filing an early hearing application.

A Bench of Justice Girish Kathpalia said, “It is a matter of serious concern that bail applications remained pending for such inordinately long period before the Court of Sessions as well as this court. As mentioned above, even in this court, this bail application remained pending since 20.12.2024 and has come up before me today for the first time."

Advocate Aman Akhtar appeared for the Petitioner and Advocate Sanjeev Sabharwal appeared for the Respondent.

The Court added, “Before proceeding further, I must place on record the anguish, expressed genuinely and politely by learned counsel for accused/applicant that for 25 months his bail application remained pending before the trial court despite his having filed early hearing application; and even before this court, the suffering did not reduce and this application remains pending till date.”

The Court expressed serious concern over the inordinate delay in hearing bail applications. It observed, “It has been repeatedly observed in plethora of judicial pronouncements that whether it be allowed or be dismissed, a bail application should not remain pending for such long periods. For, that in itself is a trauma for the incarcerated accused and violation of his fundamental rights."

Noting the prolonged custody and the stage of the trial, the Court held that it did not find any reason to further deprive the accused/applicant of liberty.

The bail application was allowed.

Cause Title: Amir v. State NCT Of Delhi, [2026:DHC:1202]

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Delhi High CourtJustice Girish Kathpalia

Suchita Shukla

Associate Editor

Suchita Shukla is an Associate Editor at Verdictum, with a strong foundation in legal research and writing, she brings over 4.5 years of experience to the table, having honed her skills in the dynamic field of law. She covers Supreme Court and High Courts. She completed her BA-LLB (Hons.) 5-year course with specialisation in Intellectual Property rights from Galgotias University. Since 2019, apart from having worked at a legal publishing house she has also ventured into legal journalism.