The Advocates Association has appealed to the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court to address “critical issues in Bench constitution leading to denial of justice.”

In a letter dated June 17, 2025, signed jointly by them, Pran Pranay, Treasurer,Navin Kumar, General Secretary and Ritu Kumar, President, have sought attention of Jharkhand High Court administration to address “critical issues in bench constitution that, according to the Advocates’ Association, “are resulting in systematic denial of justice and violation of fundamental rights of litigants.”

As per their letter, critical issues that were persisting for long were violation of the fundamental right to personal liberty. Elaborating their stand, their letter( enclosed with this story) states this.

“Admission matters pertaining to regular bail applications continue to remain pending for unconscionably long periods, resulting in gross violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.

Numerous accused persons are languishing in jail custody without any fault attributable to them, purely due to the administrative failure to provide adequate judicial forums for the timely consideration of bail applications. 

This situation directly contravenes the well-established constitutional principle that "bail is the rule, jail is the exception" as laid down by this Hon'ble Court in various landmark judgments.”

Second issue raised by the Advocates’ Association is connected with the listing and admission of writ petitions filed between 2021 to 2025.

These cases remain severely compromised under the current bench arrangement.These constitutional remedies are being assigned only on Fridays during the second half, creating an impossible bottleneck that prevents citizens
from accessing their fundamental right to constitutional remedies under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. 

This restricted window has rendered writ practitioners helpless in providing effective legal assistance to their clients, thereby defeating the very purpose of constitutional safeguards.

The third “ critical issue” raised by the Association are cases under the Delhi Police Establishment Act, Prevention of Corruption Act, National Investigation Agency Act, and Prevention of Money Laundering Act are being heard exclusively on Fridays after Division Bench proceedings, resulting in virtual non-hearing of these matters. 

This arrangement violates the constitutional guarantee of a speedy trial and creates a situation where accused persons under special statutes are subjected to indefinite procedural delays.

The Association has showed their concern and unease, stating that though they had apprised the high court administration umpteen times in the past( read the last para of their letter), about their grievances, no relief was provided till date.