In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court clarified that stay orders granted by lower courts or high courts in civil and criminal cases would not automatically expire after six months. The five-judge Constitution Bench, led by Chief Justice D. Y. Chandrachud, disagreed with its 2018 judgment, which mandated automatic vacation of stay orders unless specifically extended.
Emphasizing the need for case-specific considerations, the Bench outlined guidelines against fixing a timeline for case disposal by constitutional courts, affirming that such decisions should be exceptional. Justice A.S. Oka, in his opinion, highlighted that stay orders should be at the discretion of the concerned court, avoiding automatic vacation. The judgment aimed to balance judicial autonomy while avoiding unnecessary interference in lower court orders, setting an important precedent in legal procedure.