It is most gladdening to note that the incumbent CJI – Hon’ble Mr Justice BR Gavai on June 26, 2025 while speaking at his felicitation that was organized by the Advocates Association of the Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has said most strongly that he supported the demand to set up a Bench of the Bombay High Court at Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra for 5 districts stating that justice should be available to every citizen “in every corner”. He said that, “Every time there is a demand for Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court in Western Maharashtra, I have supported it and given the example of the Aurangabad Bench. More cases are filed in the Aurangabad Bench now than those in the Bombay Bench of the High Court.” No denying!
To be sure, the incumbent CJI – Hon’ble Mr Justice BR Gavai further hastened to add that, “It is not financially possible for everyone to come to Bombay (Mumbai) for each and every hearing. Every citizen in every corner should get justice without having to spend much time and money.” Absolutely right! No disputing it!
From the same angle, CJI must also introspect that why 30 districts of West UP with more than 10 crores people have been most cruelly, consistently and casually denied for so long even a single High Court Bench for whom Dr BR Ambedkar recommended separate Statehood itself? CJI very sagaciously pointed out precisely that, “To get justice to the man standing at the last mile was important and thus, there has to be decentralization of the judicial system.” How long will Centre keep fudging and dilly-dallying on such a most pressing issue for an inordinately long spell of time?
To put it bluntly: The bogey that West UP needs no Bench needs to be most strongly debunked! Rather I will ask: What was the dire need for a High Court Bench in Lucknow so near to Allahabad where High Court itself is located yet it has High Court since July 1, 1948? The point to reflect on is: How long will West UP be deprived from having even a single Bench? The most critical question is: How much more time will Centre senselessly keep purchasing to settle this long pending High Court Bench issue in West UP knowing it fully well that West UP owes for majority of pending cases of UP and contributes 80 percent to State’s economy yet litigants from this region are made to suffer the most as both High Court and a single Bench are in Eastern UP only and nowhere else and West UP attached with not even Lucknow but most farthest with Allahabad?
Most ironically and most shamefully, we see that Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge was constituted by Centre itself for creating a High Court Bench in West UP among other places and it recommended maximum three High Court Benches in undivided UP – two circuit Benches in hilly areas at Dehradun and Nainital and a permanent High Court Bench in West UP at Agra yet not one Bench created till date which ultimately resulted in huge agitations in hilly areas of undivided UP and UP got partitioned in 2000 and then got separate High Court for just 88 lakh people and separate State named Uttarakhand but for West UP with more than 10 crores population for which permanent Bench recommended by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission which owes for majority of pending cases of UP, we see that not a single Bench created till date with July 2025 about to start even though a permanent Bench was recommended for it about 50 years ago most unfortunately and it also recommended High Court Bench in Aurangabad in Maharashtra which already had multiple High Court Benches at Nagpur and Panaji and yet created most promptly many decades ago in 1980s itself and so also a High Court Bench at Japlaiguri was created in West Bengal which already had High Court Bench in Port Blair for just 2 lakh people and so also at Madurai in Tamil Nadu which were all created! This is the real tragedy and real worst discrimination in distribution of High Court Benches in different States! How can any CJI remain silent on this? Denial of even a single Bench to West UP is wholly untenable!
I must add here that it is certainly high time now and the worst discrimination that has been perpetrated in judiciary itself since last 75 years of completion of Constitution must be addressed at the earliest now! Frustration stems in minds of litigants of West UP due to no Bench in this region! High Court Benches are tools to be used to strengthen speedy justice and “justice at doorsteps” as recommended most strongly by 230th Report of Law Commission of India prepared under Chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge Late Dr AR Lakshmanan and other legal experts and High Court Benches are not some ornaments to be just locked up in few elite States alone as per ruling elite own whims and fancies as we see most unfortunately since last nearly eight decades!
If we jog our memory a little back, we can recall how even the then former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon while he was UN Secretary General had slammed UP as “rape and crime capital of India”! At first blush, even a layman can point out effortlessly that which State in India needs multiple High Court Benches and which State needs maximum High Court Benches! Doubtless, it is UP which needs maximum High Court Benches yet has only one and lawless Bihar has none! It is UP which has maximum population more than 26 crores and has maximum number of pending cases and still has only one High Court Bench at Lucknow so near to Allahabad created 77 years ago in July 1948 even though it is West UP which owes for majority of the total pending cases of UP and worst of all the litigants of 30 districts of West UP have been attached with not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad which means whole night and nearly a day wasted on just travelling alone to seek justice which in itself is the biggest betrayal of Constitution, deepest burial of justice and worst mockery of poorest litigants of West UP since last 78 years of independence yet Apex Court never interferes by taking suo motu cognizance nor Centre ever shows any real interest in addressing it! Dr BR Ambedkar who is founding father of Constitution himself recommended separate Statehood for West UP just like for East UP and Central UP but East UP has both High Court at Allahabad and a single Bench at Lucknow so close but most astoundingly, West UP has not even a single Bench!
By the way, the population of West UP is more than majority of the States in India and so also majority of countries in world yet has not even a single High Court Bench! Most utterly disgusting indeed! This in my view is definitely the biggest and so also the most tightest slap on the face of Constitution and what befuddles me most is that Uttarakhand as long as it formed part of UP was denied even a single Bench even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge appointed by Centre itself in mid 1970s most strongly recommended maximum High Court Benches for undivided UP with two Circuit Benches in hilly areas in Nainital and Dehradun yet not created and when people agitated hugely as they had to travel thousands of kilometers all the way till Allahabad to seek justice which in itself was the biggest betrayal of Constitution, deepest burial of justice and so also worst mockery of poorest litigants then after 54 years of independence, separate High Court was given suddenly about 25 years ago on November 9, 2000 at Nainital! We also saw how a main permanent High Court Bench was recommended by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission for West UP about 50 years ago yet not created most distressingly till date even in June 2025!
One is totally clueless as to why Centre and concerned States are not taking any meaningful and decisive steps to create more High Court Benches not even in big States like UP and Rajasthan as both have only one Bench and lawless Bihar most shockingly has none even though the 230th Report of Law Commission of India in 2009 headed by former Supreme Court Judge and an eminent jurist – Late Hon’ble Dr AR Lakshmanan most strongly advocated for creation of more High Court Benches in States and yet even after 16 years only few elite States like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Assam alone have exclusive privilege of having multiple High Court Benches? To cut a long story short, the question is whether Centre will ever try to dismantle the monopoly of few elite States in having multiple High Court Benches? No wonder, in the India Justice Report 2025 that was released on April 14, 2025, we see that States like Karnataka with population of just 6 crore get VVIP treatment by being given multiple High Court Benches at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts only created in 2008 rank among the best States right on top and West UP with 30 districts and more than 10 crore people not even a single Bench and UP with more than 26 crore population which is more than Pakistan at 25 crore has just one Bench only and it is a no-brainer that it has been listed in worst category just like lawless Bihar and Rajasthan among others also figuring in the worst category of States! Five south states rank among top performers as for just 3.5 crore people of Telangana, separate High Court created on June 2, 2014 and so also for Andhra Pradesh with just 4 crore population and we know that Andhra Pradesh Assembly just recently approved a High Court Bench in Kurnool but for Punjab and Haryana there is no separate High Court for both the States and so no wonder it figures in middle performer category states!
Still why Parliament never ensures that big States like UP, lawless Bihar and Rajasthan have multiple High Court Benches even after more than 78 years of independence? Parliament cannot be absolved ever from its most exceptional stupidity in doing nothing to set the record straight on this count and bringing them at least on parity with few elite States who have multiple High Court Benches like Karnataka even though its population at 6 crores is more than 4 crores less than West UP alone at 10 crores and more than 20 crores less than UP at 26 crores! No wonder, it is right at the top in the India Justice Report 2025!
But it really speaks volumes of how much discrimination our Centre and so also our Parliament that is both legislature and executive has ensured is perpetrated on big North Indian States like UP, Rajasthan and Bihar in judiciary itself in High Court Benches distribution which makes me hang my head in shame! It would be foolhardy to ignore the ground reality which speaks for itself. Yet Supreme Court also never takes suo motu cognizance of it and as we saw in November 2018 when an Apex Court Bench led by the then CJI Mr Ranjan Gogoi conceded the dire need of a High Court Bench in West UP while listening to a PIL by a woman lawyer KM Chitra dismissed the PIL saying that it was for Centre to decide!
Will creation of more High Court Benches ensure or hinder the rule of law? No prizes for guessing the clear writing on the wall! Why the most legitimate voice of the litigants of West UP for a High Court Bench has been throttled for so long despite West UP owing for majority of pending cases of UP and contributing to more than 80% of State’s economy? The crux of the problem is: Centre is least interested in taking any pains to seriously resolve this long pending issue which definitely has to be roundly and most strongly condemned! A High Court Bench in West UP will better ensure that police and civil administration in West UP comply as directed as it will be much closer! It certainly brooks no more delay any longer now!
By any reckoning, 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 and most mercilessly 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 230 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 about 700 to 800 km in average 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 and judiciary also has been reticent in taking any action in this regard even though it took suo motu cognizance recently in cheating in Mayor elections as we saw in Chandigarh some time back! CJI must speak on this also like he spoke for High Court Bench in Western Maharashtra for just five districts!
It merits just no reiteration that 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! The step-motherly treatment that has been humiliatingly accorded to West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP and contributes more than 80 percent to State’s economy is most disgraceful and most saddening indeed! No denying it!
What intrigues me most is why so unjustly West UP has been deprived from having even a single Bench? Centre has repeatedly assured creation of Bench in West UP but in stark contrast when it comes to action, nothing done in last nearly 80 years! Most disgraceful, most disheartening, most derisive, most discriminatory double standards and so also most disbelieving to see how unabashedly Centre has turned a blind eye to it!
How long will a solution to this Bench issue in West UP keep lurking in the shadows? To put it plainly, Centre’s inaction on this front has to be most strongly and roundly condemned! On a serious note, the people’s cry for a High Court Bench in West UP cannot be ever silenced!
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 that denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP which is also highest for any region in India is not only dangerous and deleterious but also most disastrous, most despicable and most discriminatory!
Let us still fervently hope that some Judge in Supreme Court will definitely one day take suo motu cognizance of this worst discrimination of distribution of High Court and High Court Benches in different States and different regions right under the nose of Supreme Court most shamelessly, most senselessly, most surreptitiously and most sinisterly by not allowing even a single Bench in UP in last 78 years even though UP has maximum pending cases among all the States and majority of pending cases from West UP yet not even a single Bench even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Centre itself recommended permanent seat of High Court Bench in West UP about 50 years ago and address it in the best possible convincing manner! It brooks no more delay any longer now!
My point is very clear: This definitely cannot under any circumstances continue endlessly! I am of the considered view that Centre is taking far too long for deciding in an “open and shut” case of High Court Bench in West UP! What I find really most troubling and so also most demoralizing is that this key issue directly pertains to judiciary and it is a grave violation of what is envisaged in Article 14 about equality in Constitution yet Apex Court also has most astoundingly and inexplicably desisted in last nearly 80 years of independence in taking a proactive stand on it and in ensuring that West UP has a High Court Bench so that the litigants don’t keep on suffering endlessly! But I still nurture a glimmer of hope that someday sooner or later it will definitely muster the requisite courage and conviction to honestly speak up most candidly on this also just like it spoke recently on more than half of Judges seat in Allahabad High Court lying vacant and ensure that a High Court Bench is created in West UP at the earliest as was directed also so very commendably by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Centre itself about 50 years ago and yet not created till date!
All told, this is what I find exactly most bewildering! All what I have stated as aforesaid are enough to drive home the point that West UP is in dire need of a High Court Bench just like Bihar where there is none and just like Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra which incumbent CJI Hon’ble Mr Justice BR Gavai has fully supported even though Maharashtra already has multiple High Court Benches as it brooks just no more delay any longer now! No denying or disputing it!
Let me be very clear: Centre needs to act most promptly now! It is most heartening to note that Union Law Minister Mr Ajun Ram Meghwal has definitely given most positive indications in this regard while meeting a high level delegation of senior lawyers of Meerut Bar Association most recently and even stated categorically that the constitution of 10 new High Court Benches is in the offing. He has even invited them to New Delhi to sit together in the drawing board and chalk out the most effective manner to resolve it at the earliest! One fervently hopes that it actually materializes on ground for it brooks no more delay any longer now!
