It is beyond at least my comprehension entirely that why the nearly one crore people of hilly areas of undivided Uttar Pradesh had to travel thousands and thousands of kilometers all the way not even till Lucknow which falls about 230 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad to seek justice as long as those hilly areas formed part of Uttar Pradesh for more than 53 years! Why for such a big State like Uttar Pradesh did we witness a single High Court Bench only being created in July 1948 less than a year after independence and that too so close to Allahabad at Lucknow to seek justice and nowhere else? What intrigues me most is: Why is Centre so dead determined never to allow even a single High Court Bench in any nook and corner of Uttar Pradesh other than the one at Lucknow where it was just not needed at all as it is so close to Allahabad where High Court itself is situated?
I am simply speechless to say what on why most senselessly has Centre deprived most needy States like UP and Bihar from having multiple High Court Benches or even one for Bihar and needy regions of UP like West UP, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal! Why for States like Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka we see Centre taking no time in creating multiple High Court Benches even though States like UP and Bihar are left in the cold to shiver with not even a single Bench created in last so many decades and UP has just one Bench and Bihar none? What I find even more startling is that Western UP which owes! Is this not a self-defeating exercise on the part of Centre?
What sense does it make that inspite of UP having maximum pending cases among all the States in India and so also having maximum population has just one High Court Bench and that too in Eastern UP only where High Court itself is located? It is nowhere cast in stone that not a single High Court Bench can be created anywhere other than the one at Lucknow! What I find even more startling is that Western UP which owes for more than half of the total number of pending cases has none and the litigants of West UP are made to travel not just till Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad to seek justice!
It must be asked: How long will Centre keep its eyes shut to the clear writing on the wall? Centre’s brazen hypocrisy on this is hard to miss! Why Centre care two hoots for such a compelling and legitimate demand for a Bench in West UP? The argument that West UP cannot be given even a single High Court Bench certainly deserves to be rejected in its entirety!
How can we gloss over the irrefutable fact that Uttar Pradesh which is renowned as India’s most populous State with an astounding population of over 25 crores also holds the unenviable distinction of having the highest number of pending cases in India? I am totally clueless as to why the backlog of cases that are pending adjudication in Uttar Pradesh’s judicial system is staggering and the pending cases exceeds 10 lakhs in the High Court and nearly one crore in the lower courts. What is particularly most noteworthy is that we see that over half of the total pending cases in UP are concentrated in West UP alone!
Why is Centre in two minds in such an open and shut case? I am totally clueless as to why West UP has no Bench! How long will Centre repudiate, rubbish and reject West UP’s most legitimate claim for a High Court Bench as is the compelling need also?
No doubt, one might naturally anticipate that such a significant caseload would warrant the creation of additional High Court Benches to expedite the justice delivery process. Yet, most astonishingly we see that for an astounding 77 years, the Centre has remained resolute in its refusal to entertain the prospect of establishing supplementary Benches. This despite the irrefutable fact that Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by the former Supreme Court Judge – Mr Jaswant Singh appointed in Mrs Indira Gandhi’s term as PM in 1970s most strongly recommended three High Court Benches for undivided UP at Dehradun, Nainital and Agra in West UP yet not one created which is the worst assault on Article 14 of Constitution which enshrines the concept of equality!
Nothing on earth can ever be more perverse than this bone chilling truth that on the landmark recommendations of this very Justice Jaswant Singh Commission, Centre approved a High Court Bench at Aurangabad in Maharashtra which already had multiple High Court Benches at Nagpur and Panaji and so also at Jalpaiguri in West Bengal for just 6 districts which already had a Bench at Port Blair for just 3 lakh people but for more than 10 crore people of West UP we see again a “BIG ZERO”! Centre must spare a food of thought for the “poorest of the poor” litigants who are suffering the most due to no High Court Bench being created here and have to travel whole night and half day all the way till Allahabad by train to seek justice and not by plane which they just cannot afford! The most brilliant recommendations for setting up three more High Court Benches in UP was put on the table by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission yet we saw how dastardly, denigratingly and despicably Centre did not approve even a single High Court Bench for even undivided UP!
Needless to say, this entrenched discriminatory, derisive and double standards stance has given rise to an incredulous situation in which the residents of West UP, totaling more than 10 crores, must embark on arduous journeys to Allahabad, located over 700 to 800 kilometers away from most of the districts of West UP, in their quest for justice which means whole night and half day is wasted on just travelling alone! It also has to be conceded that such geographical inconvenience stands not only as an affront to justice but also as a stark reflection of the glaring insensitivity towards the welfare of the citizens.
It is most shocking that UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 25 crore, 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 10 lakh and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57%, maximum Judges both in High Court – 160 and also in lower courts, maximum vacancies of Judges about 60 in High Court and 1200 in lower courts, maximum members in UP Bar Council more than 3 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 undertrials, 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 what not yet Centre till now end of 2023 staring us from 1948 when a bench was created in Lucknow which is so close to Allahabad is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but for the entire UP? Area of West UP is 98,933 square km and accounts for 33.61 percent of total area of UP and has 30 districts yet no bench but Lucknow with just 62,363 square km and 12 districts has a Bench!
To say the least, the imbalance in the distribution of High Court Benches within Uttar Pradesh raises serious questions about the accessibility of justice. The distance that the litigants from West UP must travel to reach High Court in Allahabad is quite staggering. There can be no gainsaying that in the age of rapid digital transformation and technological advancements, the physical distance one must travel for the sake of justice seems utterly incongruous. This travel-related inconvenience is compounded by the overcrowding and overburdening of the existing High Court in Allahabad. As the sheer volume of cases grows, the justice delivery system becomes increasingly strained, leading to prolonged delays and exacerbating the suffering of litigants.
All told, it cannot be denied that Uttar Pradesh must have more High Court Benches in needy regions like in West UP, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal. My simple, short and straightforward point is: Only one High Court Bench for whole of UP is just not acceptable! UP has maximum Judges in all courts and so also maximum pending cases in all the courts and so also maximum population among all the States then why should it have minimum High Court Benches in India? This is the real crux of the matter! Centre must act!
Sanjeev Sirohi
