“I have completed my work; I wish there should be a sunrise even tomorrow. The new Bharat has got political freedom, but it is yet to raise the sun of social and economic liberty. So long as you do not achieve social liberty, whatever freedom is provided by the law is of no avail to you.”
– Dr BR Ambedkar
Dr BR Ambedkar who was undoubtedly the key architect of our Constitution was born on April 14, 1891 in the town and military cantonment of Mhow which is now officially known as Dr Ambedkar Nagar in Madhya Pradesh. He was the 14th and last child of Ramji Maloji Sakpal who was an Army Officer in British rule and his mother was Bhimabai Sakpal. His family was of Marathi background from the town of Ambadawe (Mandangad Taluka) in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.
He firmly believed in the principle of equality for all, regardless of caste, creed, religion or gender as is enshrined also in Article 14 of Constitution. It is my most humble opinion that the denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP, hilly areas of undivided UP and lawless Bihar is the biggest slap on face of Constitution! I think Centre since last about 80 years very strongly feel that Dr BR Ambedkar who recommended separate Statehood itself and separate High Court and separate capital for West UP and so also similarly for Central UP and so also for Eastern UP was most foolish proposition on earth which alone explains why it has been nipped in the bud and even in April 2025 we don’t see any change from what was done during independence days of 1947-48! But yes we must credit late former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee for creating separate Statehood itself named Uttarakhand and separate capital and separate High Court for hilly areas of undivided UP on November 9, 2000 about 25 years ago when people agitated hugely as they had to travel thousands of kilometers all the way till not even Lucknow where a High Court Bench exists since 1948 so close to Allahabad but right uptill Allahabad which is more than 230 km far away from Lucknow to seek justice which in itself is the biggest betrayal of Constitution, deepest burial of justice and worst mockery of poorest litigants as Centre did not implement the most landmark recommendations of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Centre itself about 50 years ago headed by former Supreme Court Judge who recommended two High Court Circuit Benches at Dehradun and Nainital while wasting no time to create one more High Court Bench for Maharashtra at Aurangabad which already had multiple High Court Benches at Nagpur and Panaji and so also at Jalpaiguri in West Bengal for just 5 districts which already had High Court Bench at Port Blair!
At first blush, even a layman can point out that which State in India needs multiple High Court Benches and which State needs maximum High Court Benches! Still we see that UP which is most populated State of India with maximum pending cases and Rajasthan which is largest State areawise have only one Bench at Lucknow and Jaipur and lawless Bihar has none! How long will the judicial system in big States still be allowed to be in doldrums for so long?
Is this the way to make India a developed country by 2047 as PM Mr Narendra Modi wants that you deprive most deserving big States like UP, Bihar and Rajasthan from having multiple High Court Benches and confer only few elite States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, MP, Assam and West Bengal with having multiple High Court Benches? Yet why even media which is considered the fourth pillar of democracy very rarely bothers to ever highlight it most forcefully especially in news channels and top newspapers and top magazines? I just can’t second guess!
There cannot be ever a bigger tragedy than this that for 78 years of independence we see that West UP has been denied even a single High Court Bench even though it is West UP which owes for majority of the pending cases of UP which is highest not just in UP but is also highest in any other region of India and contributes more than 80% to State’s revenue yet mercilessly deprived from having even a single High Court Bench which is undoubtedly most disastrous! What is even most worst is that the litigants of 30 districts of West UP have been most atrociously attached with not even Lucknow where a High Court Bench exists since July 1948 in Eastern UP but attached most stupidly with Allahabad which is more than 250 km away from even Lucknow which means the poorest litigants of 30 districts of West UP have to spend more and travel whole night and nearly a day by train to attend court hearings which is plainly unconstitutional just like litigants of hilly areas of undivided UP had to travel thousands of kilometers all the way again till Allahabad in true dictatorial style making the worst mockery of our Constitution and so also of poorest litigants till Uttar Pradesh was partitioned and this was the major reason which political parties never like to concede! The trials and tribulations that litigants of West UP have to face due to no Bench in this region even though majority of pending cases are from West UP are simply unending yet most atrociously we see that Centre has done absolutely just nothing to resolve it and media too has utterly failed to highlight it effectively!
There cannot be ever a bigger tragedy than this that for 78 years of independence we see that West UP has been denied even a single High Court Bench even though it is West UP which owes for majority of the pending cases of UP which is highest not just in UP but is also highest in any other region of India yet mercilessly deprived from having even a single High Court Bench which is undoubtedly most disastrous! What is even most worst is that the litigants of 30 districts of West UP have been most atrociously attached with not even Lucknow where a High Court Bench exists since July 1948 in Eastern UP but attached most stupidly with Allahabad which is more than 250 km away from even Lucknow which means the poorest litigants of 30 districts of West UP have to spend more and travel whole night and nearly a day by train to attend court hearings which is plainly unconstitutional just like litigants of hilly areas of undivided UP had to travel thousands of kilometers all the way again till Allahabad in true dictatorial style making the worst mockery of our Constitution and so also of poorest litigants till Uttar Pradesh was partitioned and this was the major reason which political parties never like to concede! The trials and tribulations that litigants of West UP have to face due to no Bench in this region even though majority of pending cases are from West UP are simply unending yet most atrociously we see that Centre has done absolutely just nothing to resolve it and media too has utterly failed to highlight it effectively!
With a very heavy heart, I want to say that Centre has been most biased in denying West UP even a single Bench! You don’t need a telescope to see that which State should have maximum High Court Benches as it is the most populated State of India with maximum number of pending cases! How long will Supreme Court be in hibernation mode on this count? It has to be acknowledged with grace and humility that denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP is not only dangerous and deleterious but also most disastrous, most despicable, most dastardly and so also most discriminatory!
It is most shocking that UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 26 crore as CM Yogi Adityanath and so also PM Narendra Modi always so very proudly claims, maximum districts – 75, maximum constituencies – 80, maximum MPs – 80, maximum MLAs – 404, maximum PM including Narendra Modi who represents Varanasi as an MP, maximum pending cases – more than 11 lakh in Allahabad High Court and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57% and now after so many decades the percentage of pending cases in West UP has gone substantially much higher, maximum cases in lower courts about to touch 1 crore, maximum Judges both in High Court – 160 and also in lower courts, maximum vacancies of Judges both in High Court and also in lower courts, maximum members in UP Bar Council more than 1 lakh and which is also the largest Bar Council in the world as claimed in the website itself of UP Bar Council yet the former Chairman of UP Bar Council – Darvesh Yadav who was the first woman to get appointed to this post was murdered cold blooded right in court premises in Agra which is again in West UP on June 12, 2019 by pumping bullets on her head and stomach, maximum poverty, maximum villages more than one lakh the exact number being 107040, maximum gram panchayats at 74626, maximum fake encounters killings, maximum custody killings, maximum dowry cases, maximum bride burning cases, maximum cases of human rights violations, maximum robberies, maximum dacoities, maximum cases of crime, loot, arson and riots and here too West UP tops with Saharanpur riots, Meerut riots, Muzaffarnagar riots tarnishing our international reputation to the extent that former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon termed UP as “crime and rape capital” of India and just recently we see Bahraich coming in news for communal disturbances most recently, maximum undertrials in all age groups and what not yet Centre till now in April 2025 from July 1948 when a Bench was created in Lucknow which is so close to Allahabad and where it was just not needed at all is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but for the entire UP nor even ready to attach 30 districts of West UP with more than 10 crore population which is more than majority of States with Lucknow? How can Centre ever deny, distort or dispute such most irrefutable facts? What exacerbates matters is Centre stonewalling any attempt to create a Bench in West UP or any other part of UP except Eastern UP!
Much water has flown down the bridge since India became independent in 1947 but the most stark truth is that even nearly 80 years later in April 2025, we see that West UP is without a High Court Bench which is definitely most deplorable, most dangerous, most self destructive and most discriminatory that even Supreme Court has dared not to ever intervene even when UP was undivided! Why Supreme Court has tolerated such dastardly discrimination in distribution of High Court Benches in different States and in different regions? If this is not the biggest tight slap on Constitution and Dr BR Ambedkar, then what else is?
Why is Centre so ambivalent and inimical in taking any proactive step that goes a long way in resolving this key issue at the earliest? One can’t fathom that why Centre has behaved so partially, so irrationally and so undemocratically that the most populated State of India with maximum number of pending cases was given only one Bench and that too very close to Allahabad itself and worst of all attached litigants of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP with not even Lucknow which is more than 230 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad as if India was still being ruled by colonial Britishers with even Lahore in Pakistan closer to West UP as compared to Allahabad High Court? This is exactly that has led to catastrophic results and culminated in partition of UP into UP and Uttarakhand in 2000! Will any democratic country behave in such autocratic manner?
Is this democratic or autocratic style of functioning? Centre’s approach in this regard in last nearly 80 years has been most diabolically outrageous and has to be most strongly condemned! Why these elected representatives are behaving like monarchs depriving the people from having easy and affordable justice at doorsteps is truly incomprehensible?
Why this High Court Bench issue in West UP has most mysteriously remained in limbo for so long? Why can’t Centre bury the hatchet and move forward to balance the regional imbalance of Eastern UP having both High Court at Allahabad and a single Bench at Lucknow so close to each other and West UP inspite of owing for majority of pending cases of UP for whom Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended permanent seat of High Court Bench yet even after nearly 50 years not even a Bench created nor even a Circuit Bench created! What I find most deeply unsettling is that even now we see that neither the Supreme Court nor Centre is ready to open its eyes and take most concrete action to dismember the most historical, Himalayan blunder committed about 80 years ago! Denying West UP and Bihar even a single High Court Bench is not just illogical but also deeply insensitive, deeply flawed and most deeply discriminatory also that has gone unnoticed, unchecked and unaddressed for so long!
Sanjeev Sirohi