Non-bailable warrants issue: 73K cases pending, Madras HC appoints nodal officer
CHENNAI: Expressing concern over thousands of cases pending in courts for decades across the state due to issues in executing non-bailable warrants (NBWs), the Madras High Court has directed subordinate courts and the Director General of Police (DGP) to strictly follow the orders and guidelines of the Supreme Court in this regard.
Citing the report filed by the Registrar General, the judge said 73,699 cases are pending at the stage of execution of NBWs from 1985 to June 2025 across the courts in Tamil Nadu.
Commenting that pendency of warrants from 1985 “reflects a breakdown of the system”, Justice P Velmurugan appointed R Mahesh Babu, a retired chief administrative officer of district judiciary, as the nodal officer to review the situation in subordinate courts and submit reports.
File action taken report in 3 months: Judge to DGP
The judge, in the order passed on Friday while disposing of a batch of petitions seeking directions to the police to execute NBWs against accused persons and subordinate courts to take charge sheets on file, also told the DGP to file an action taken report in three months.
The nodal officer will ascertain whether all the subordinate courts across the state are complying with guidelines of the SC and circulars of the HC regarding issuance and execution of the NBWs, maintenance of registers and disposal of case properties and imparting training, the judge said. Referring to the RG’s report, the judge said although the pendency for the current year – 12, 294 cases – may be within acceptable limits, the fact that more than 61,000 cases have been remaining pending, several of them for decades, is deeply troubling.
“This reflects a serious lapse in the functioning of the enforcement machinery and weakens the effectiveness of the criminal justice system,” Justice Velmurugan said. He said the matter, therefore, calls for “immediate corrective measures”. “This court finds it necessary to reiterate that both the police and the judiciary bear a joint institutional responsibility to deliver justice. Justice must not be denied or delayed due to procedural irregularities or administrative indifference,” Justice Velmurugan said. The judge also called for addressing the discrepancy in the data of pendency of NBWs since the RG reported 73,699 and the DGP reported 16,038 cases.