A five-judge Constitution Bench of the SC in High Court Bar Association, Allahabad v. State of UP [1] has held that there cannot be automatic vacation of interim orders of stay of proceedings only by reason of lapse of time. In doing so, the SC has overruled its earlier ruling in Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency (P) Ltd. v. CBI[2] wherein it had held that interim orders passed by HCs for stay on trials in civil and criminal matters would expire automatically after six months, unless the same were expressly extended by the HC. The SC further held that constitutional Courts should, in the ordinary course, refrain from fixing a time-bound schedule for disposal of cases pending before any other Court.
[1] High Court Bar Association, Allahabad v. State of UP, (Criminal Appeal No. 3589 of 2023, decided on February 29, 2024)
[2] Asian Resurfacing of Road Agency (P) Ltd. v. CBI, (2018) 16 SCC 299