JUDGMENT :

ANIRUDDHA BOSE, J.

1. Leave Granted.

2. These two petitions for Special Leave to Appeal, now appeals on grant of leave, have been listed as connected matters and heard by us as such. A learned Single Judge of the Rajasthan High Court in an order passed on 31st March, 2020, from which SLP (Crl.) No. 5618 of 2021 originated, had directed the Registrar (Judicial) of the High Court to not to list bails, appeals, applications for suspension of sentence in appeals and revisions in the category of extreme urgent matters. We shall henceforth refer to that application (S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Second Bail Application No. 17767 of 2019) filed in the High Court as the first bail application. The same learned Judge, in the other order, passed on 17th May 2021 giving rise to SLP (Crl.) No. 3949 of 2021, had directed the police authorities not to make arrest of persons in cases where the accused is charged under an offence carrying maximum sentence of three years and the offence is triable by a First Class Magistrate. In this order also, direction had been given to the High Court administration not to list bail applications under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (the 1973 Code) in offences where maximum sentence extends upto three years and the offence which is triable by a First Class Magistrate. When these orders were passed, the Covid-19 pandemic was raging across this country. This order was passed in an application for anticipatory bail, registered as S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 3125 of 2021 (the second bail application). We, however, find that the bail plea of the applicant was ultimately rejected by the High Court on 20th May, 2020 in the first bail application. The second bail application, which was for anticipatory bail, was also rejected by the High Court on 2nd August, 2021.

3. By an interim order passed by this Court on 25th May, 2021 in appeal brought by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Bench at Jaipur there was interim stay of the directions issued in Paragraphs 9, 10 and 11 of the impugned order dated 17th May, 2021. The directions contained in paragraphs 15 and 16 in the order passed on 31st March, 2020 was also stayed by an interim order passed by this Court on 3rd April, 2020. The order passed by the High Court in the first bail application was to last till withdrawal of the order of complete lockdown by the Government of India. The order in the second bail application was to last till 17th July, 2021.

4. The applicant in the first bail application was one Shahrukh, who went unrepresented on the day the order was passed. This order contained, inter-alia, the following directions:

“13. Release of an accused or convict at the cost of breaching the order of lockdown and at the cost of risking lives of many cannot be considered to fall within the category of “extreme urgent matter.” It is also relevant to note that Rajasthan High Court has Holi, Dashera, Diwali and Winter vacations ranging from few days to few weeks during which period also Bail applications and applications for suspension of sentence are not taken up by the Court.

14. It is pertinent to mention that a report was sought from DG Prisons who has reported that there is no overcrowding in Prisons, there is regular medical check up of inmates and all new inmates are subject to medical check up and wherever space is available are kept separately before putting them with the inmates.

15. In view of the discussions made herein above, this Court is of the considered view that at the time when there is complete lockdown the bail applications, Appeals under SC/ST Act, applications for suspension of sentence can not be considered to be of extreme urgency.

16. Registrar Judicial is directed not to list Bails, appeals applications for suspension of sentence in Appeals and Revisions in the category of “extreme urgent matters.”

17. All such matters and the present applications be listed after the withdrawal of order of co