In my life, I definitely cannot ever even dare dream of a more bigger insult of legendary Prabhu Shri Ram who always symbolized justice and not temple as has been so widely propagated in last three decades even though we all know that he blessed Lord Hanuman that “Whoever will worship you I will accept it as my worship” and Babasaheb famously known as Dr BR Ambedkar who is the key architect of our Constitution other than the most unpalatable truth that Uttar Pradesh which is the most populated State of India having more population than even Pakistan at 25 crores inspite of partition of UP in 2000 with maximum number of pending cases has just one High Court Bench at Lucknow known famously as Nawab City in Eastern UP where High Court is itself located very near at Allahabad most horrendously and as if this was not enough, the litigants of hilly districts of undivided UP and 30 districts of West UP were not even attached with Lucknow which falls more than 230 km earlier rather were most horribly attached with Allahabad to seek justice which in itself is the biggest injustice as the poor and deprived litigants had to shell out more money to travel all the way like donkeys to Allahabad! Very few of us know that Dr BR Ambedkar had most strongly, sagaciously and sincerely advocated partition of Uttar Pradesh into three parts – Western, Eastern and Central UP! Yet no one listened and all PM from Jawaharlal Nehru to PM Narendra Modi have vowed most inexplicably till date not to allow even a single High Court Bench in any nook and corner of Uttar Pradesh slammed by former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon as the “rape and crime capital of India’ other than at Lucknow!
It is the biggest mystery on earth that why Allahabad High Court which is the biggest High Court in the whole world and has maximum pending cases among all the States in India more than 10 lakhs in High Court and nearly 1 crore in lower courts and has still just one Bench only so close to Allahabad at Lucknow only and nowhere else created in July 1948! I am still struggling to comprehend that how can it happen that West UP which owes for more than half of the total pending cases of UP has not even a single High Court Bench and UP which tops the States list in having maximum number of pending cases both in High Courts and so also in Trial Courts has just one Bench only and States where there are much less pending cases like Karnataka whose total population is 6 crores and of West UP is 10 crores, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam at 4 crores and Madhya Pradesh at 7 crores yet there are multiple High Court Benches and Assam till 2012 had seven Benches and UP just one and West UP which owes for more than half of the total pending cases of UP as conceded by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission has none! This fills me up with huge sense of discontentment, despair and dejection on the nonchalant and ruthless manner in which Centre has dumped the long term interests and conveniences of the litigants of West UP in the backyard which cannot be justified ever under any circumstances.
Only one region and that is Eastern UP alone has both High Court and so also a single Bench which I find completely absurd that is the biggest disrespect and worst affront to what Constitution and Prabhu Shri Ram concept of equality stands for and most discriminatory! What is even more terribly worst is the irrefutable fact that the Justice Jaswant Singh Commission’s recommendations that was appointed by Centre itself in mid 1970s to create 3 High Court Benches in UP in mid 1970s was mocked at and more than 50 years later we see not one Bench created in not just West UP but in any nook and corner of UP making a complete mockery of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission’s recommendations to create three High Court Benches in UP yet not one created while wasting no time simultaneously in creating High Court Bench at Aurangabad in Maharashtra as recommended and which already had multiple High Court Benches at Nagpur and Panaji and similarly West Bengal which already had Bench at Port Blair for just 3 lakh people was given one more for Jalpaiguri and one recommended for Madurai in Tamil Nadu also created! As if this was not enough, Centre did not implement the most landmark recommendations of the 230th report of the Law Commission of India for creation of more High Court Benches that were prepared under the Chairmanship of eminent former Supreme Court Judge and legal luminary – late Dr AR Lakshmanan! Questions abound in the social and mainstream media about Centre’s motive on this key issue!
It must also be asked: Why has Bench remained elusive for West UP for such a long time? Why is Centre demonstrating so much of obduracy in addressing it? Why West UP which owes for more than half of the total pending cases of UP has no High Court Bench? What is the point in denying West UP even a single Bench when it owes for more than half of the total pending cases of UP and High Court at Allahabad is so far about 700 km on average for which Justice Jaswant Singh Commission also recommended strongly a Bench? What keeps on running in my mind most of the time is: Why is Centre so hell bent in denying West UP even a single Bench due to which the lawyers of West UP had gone on “total strike” on January 18, 2024? For 6 months in 2001 and in 2014 the lawyers of West UP had gone on 6 months strike for Bench and for two to three months also many times and one month hunger strike in 1976 and strike from May 1981 to April 2024 every Saturday to register strongest protest and many times even on Wednesday which was later discontinued so that litigants don’t suffer hugely!
It is definitely most deeply disappointing to see that even after more than 77 years of independence we still see that no party ruling in Centre has ever cared for the endless woes of the litigants of West UP which they have been facing by being made to travel whole night and half day all the way to Allahabad averaging 700 to 800 km due to the most despicable, dastardly and derisive stand of Centre to not allow even a single High Court Bench in whole of West UP or even in whole of UP even though former Mumbai Commissioner of Police and former Union Cabinet Minister in PM Narendra Modi’s regime Dr Satyapal Singh very strongly pitched his voice right inside Parliament a few years back in support of two High Court Benches for West UP at Meerut and Agra and in addition also demanded High Court Bench in Varanasi, Gorakhpur and Jhansi! As if this was not enough, former PM late Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee himself demanded High Court Bench for West UP at Meerut in 1986 as Opposition Leader in Parliament and so also many UP CM in past having recommended Bench with Sampoornand having recommended it in 1955 and with Mayawati recommending creation of West UP as a separate State in 1995 and still till now in April 2024, we see no High Court Bench set up anywhere not just in West UP but in whole of UP except the one at Lucknow where it was just not needed at all created way back in 1948 so near to Allahabad where High Court is located! Centre’s firm determination to help the “poorest of the poor” litigants can come to fruition only by the creation of more High Court Bench in needy regions like West UP, Purvanchal and Bundelkhand!
All that I am saying and submitting is that why can’t West UP have even a single Bench? Centre has no business to keep denying West UP a single Bench on one pretext or the other! Why the hell on earth such blatant, brazen, brutal and blind disrespect of Constitution has been allowed to fester, flourish and linger inordinately for such a long time?
Let me put it this way: Why does it not matter to Centre that the litigants of West UP have to travel so far to Allahabad which averages more than 700 km and the population of West UP is nearly half of UP at more than 10 crores and owes for more than half of the total pending cases of UP and still not even one Bench? Why does it not matter to Centre that lawyers of West UP have been agitating and striking and doing not what not for a Bench yet after 77 years no Bench? Why does it not matter to Centre that even Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge recommended Bench for West UP yet after so many decades no Bench?
It must be asked: Why is Centre mutilating Article 14 of Constitution by denying West UP even a single Bench and equipping Eastern UP alone with both High Court and a Bench? Why Maharashtra tops in latest Justice Index Ranking States list and still has maximum High Court Benches all over India and UP even though figuring very down and owing for maximum cases still one Bench only and both High Court and Bench in Eastern UP only? Why West UP owing for more than half of the total pending cases of UP has no Bench? This is definitely nothing else but is a terrible sheer subversion of the Constitution itself and what it stands for!
Nation must know and citizens must know that what are the inexplicable reasons due to which West UP has been treated so contemptuously and so also Bihar which has not even a single High Court Bench! Centre’s shoddy handling in tackling this Bench issue cannot be ever brushed aside lightly! Centre may be facing unrelenting pressure from the powerful lobby deadly opposed to a Bench in West UP but throwing the baby out with the bathwater is hardly a sensible decision and Centre definitely cannot be applauded for doing just nothing to address it!
It was on auspicious November 26, 1949 that Constitution was prepared under Chairmanship of Dr BR Ambedkar who is the key architect to ensure equality, liberty, justice and secularism without any discrimination on any ground whatsoever! At this juncture, it would be material to note that justice and truth can be ensured only if there is a level playing field. What we see in case of distribution of High Court Benches in different States most unequally and most disgracefully is by Centre favouring few elite States like Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh to have multiple High Court Benches leaving out big States like UP, Rajasthan and Bihar to suffer most unjustly with just one or no Bench which makes a complete mockery of the very concept of justice, truth and equality as enshrined in Constitution and is definitely the biggest disrespect to it! Why Centre forgets that, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”? Centre must refrain from “higgledy-piggledy” approach on such a serious issue as this as most unfortunately we have been witnessing since last 75 years of India becoming a Republic country!
Why can’t Centre even spare a food of thought at least for what a very senior and an eminent lawyer Mr Misbahuddin Siddiqui who is the former President of Meerut District Bar very rightly pointed out lamenting saying that, “The problem is that the Allahabad High Court has the highest number of pending cases. The pressure is huge. Allahabad is very far from Western UP. It is around 800 km from Saharanpur. Eight other High Courts of eight different States or their Bench are closer to West UP most astonishingly, and interestingly Lahore High Court in Pakistan is closer than Allahabad High Court. The cost of travelling so far to Allahabad, and then staying there is huge for poor people. That is why we have been demanding a High Court Bench. Successive governments have denied us this.” Still why West UP has not even a single Bench? Even former CJI while listening to a PIL as CJI in November 2018 had conceded that there is merit in demand of High Court Bench in West UP but had dismissed it saying that it was for Centre to decide but nearly 6 years later we still no action taken by Centre! Even the incumbent UP State Government had recommended for a High Court Bench in West UP to Allahabad High Court but withdrew for undisclosed reasons which clearly depicts that there is a compelling need for Bench in West UP but still we see no tangible progress on ground!
It is high time and Supreme Court which is the last ray of hope must definitely step in and provide relief to the people by taking suo motu cognizance of it under Article 142 of Constitution as we see Centre not doing anything on it till now and must most promptly order creation of a High Court Bench in West UP! What can be more terrible than this on earth? Only one thing can be more terrible and that is the top court doing just nothing on it even though this directly concerns the judiciary!
It is high time that Supreme Court must stop watching everything like a helpless, hopeless and hapless spectator and take suo motu cognizance as it has done in so many other cases under Article 142 of the Constitution and promptly order Centre to create a High Court Bench in West UP as was recommended also by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge and not leave the more than 10 crores people of West UP at the whims and fancies of Centre to take its own sweet time to decide what it wants to do finally on this! I really just can’t second guess that why the hell on earth has this worst form of most atrocious discrimination between different States in allotment of Benches been perpetrated with impunity with most peaceful States like Maharashtra topping the latest “Justice Index Ranking State List” which is also the home State of incumbent CJI Hon’ble Dr DY Chandrachud has maximum High Court Benches and so also Karnataka which has multiple High Court Benches and UP which owes for maximum pending cases has just one and West UP which owes for more than half of the pending cases has none and so also another lawless State Bihar whose population is more than 15 crores has none and so also Rajasthan has just one! Only Supreme Court knows best that why it has tacitly given the thumbs-up to this most worst form of atrocious discrimination perpetrated so blindly, brazenly and brutally in creation of Benches in different States and what is most jaw-dropping to note is that even now we see no action being taken on ground to make course correction of any kind in this regard despite India celebrating its 75th year of “Republic Day” so pompously which is really most frustrating to see!
But it is good to see that Supreme Court has asked Allahabad High Court to enable e-filing and virtual appearance facilities at UP districts courts which in Meerut should have started by November 1, 2023 but nearly 6 months later we see that nothing has translated into action! How disappointing and how atrocious it is! This is definitely the biggest legal insult of Prabhu Shri Ram and Babasaheb Dr BR Ambedkar in India!
Sanjeev Sirohi