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Allahabad High Court

NARESH PRASAD JAISWALversusCHHOTE LAL

Decided

Holding

The High Court held that, absent exceptional circumstances, it cannot issue a direction under Article 227 to compel a subordinate court to dispose of a civil suit within a stipulated time.

Summary

The petitioner filed a writ petition under Article 227 seeking a direction to the Civil Judge in Varanasi to decide a civil suit (Case No. 67/2021) expeditiously. The High Court referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in High Court Bar Association v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2024) which cautioned constitutional courts against imposing time‑bound schedules on lower courts except in exceptional circumstances. It also relied on its own Division Bench precedent in Ali Shad Usmani v. Ali Isteba (2015) which declined to order expedited hearing of a civil suit. Applying these precedents, the Court held that it could not direct the subordinate court to fast‑track the suit. The petition was therefore dismissed and the petitioner was advised to seek an expeditious disposal application directly before the trial court.

Issues considered

  • Can the High Court, under Article 227, direct a subordinate civil court to decide a suit within a stipulated period?
  • Does the Supreme Court precedent prohibiting time‑bound schedules for lower courts preclude such a direction?
  • Are there exceptional circumstances justifying an order for expedited disposal?

Subjects

  • Article 227
  • Writ petition
  • Expeditious disposal
  • Civil suit
  • High Court direction
  • Judicial discretion
  • Case management

Judgment

         HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
             MATTERS UNDER ARTICLE 227 No. - 12265 of 2026

Naresh Prasad Jaiswal
                                                                     .....Petitioner(s)
                                       Versus

Chhote Lal
                                                                  .....Respondent(s)

Counsel for Petitioner(s)                               :    Vinod Pandey
Counsel for Respondent(s)                               :


Court No. - 9
                HON'BLE ROHIT RANJAN AGARWAL, J.

1. This writ petition has been filed with the following prayer:-

     "i. Issue a order or direction to the learned trial court/learned Civil Judge
     (S.D.)/Fast Track Court, Varanasi to decide the Case filed by the
     plaintiff/respondent dated 16.01.2021 bearing Case No. 67/2021 (Chhote
     Lal Versus Naresh Prasad Jaiswal), expeditiously within stipulated period
     as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper."

2. Recently, the Constitution Bench of Hon'ble Supreme Court in High
Court Bar Association, Allahabad vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and
others (2024) 6 SCC 267 has held that Constitution Courts should refrain
from fixing a time-bound schedule for the disposal of cases pending
before any other courts. The Court further held that issue of prioritising
the disposal of cases should be best left to the decision of the courts
concerned where the cases are pending. Relevant para 47.3 of the said
judgment is extracted hereasunder :-

     "Constitutional courts, in the ordinary course, should refrain from fixing a
     time-bound schedule for the disposal of cases pending before any other
     courts. Constitutional courts may issue directions for the time-bound
     disposal of cases only in exceptional circumstances. The issue of
     prioritising the disposal of cases should be best left to the decision of the
     courts concerned where the cases are pending;"

3. The Division Bench of this Court in Ali Shad Usmani vs. Ali Isteba,
                                                                A227 No. 12265 of 2026
                                    2


2015 (2) ADJ 250 (DB) has held that no direction can be issued to the
sub-ordinate courts for deciding the suit within stipulated period. Relevant
portion of the judgment is extracted hereasunder:-

     "We are not inclined to issue a direction for the expeditious hearing of a
     Civil Suit which is pending before the Civil Judge (Junior Division),
     District-Azamgarh. It would be most inappropriate to Court to entertain a
     writ petition under Article 226 and/or under Article 227 of the
     Constitution simply for the purpose of expediting the hearing of a suit.
     Such orders, if granted, place a class of litigants, who move the court in a
     separate and preferential category whereas other cases which may be of
     similar or greater antiquity and urgency are left to be decided in the
     normal channel. Hence, any such direction may be issued with the greatest
     care and circumspection by the High Court otherwise the Civil Courts will
     be overburdened only with requests for expeditious disposal of suits,
     which have been expedited by the High Court. Most of the litigants cannot
     afford the expense of moving the High court and would not, therefore, be
     in a position to have the benefit of such an order.

     Ultimately, it must be left to the judicious exercise of discretion of the
     concerned Court to determine whether a ground for urgency has been
     made out. We emphasize that there may be other cases such as involving
     senior citizens, those who are differently abled or people suffering from a
     particular disablilty socio-economic or otherwise which may prime cause
     of urgent disposal. It is for the learned Trial Judge in each case to apply
     his or her mind and decide whether the hearing of the suit to be expedited.

     For these reasons, we are not inclined to entertain the petition. The
     petition is, accordingly, dismissed. There shall be no order as to cost."

4. In view of above, this Court declines to direct the court below to
expedite the proceedings pending before it.

5. The petitioner may, however, move an application for expeditious
disposal of Suit No. 67 of 2021 (Chhote Lal vs. Naresh Prasad Jaiswal)
 before the court concerned who will decide the same on the basis of
pendency of cases before it and also keeping in mind the dictum of
Hon’ble Apex Court.
                                                                                            A227 No. 12265 of 2026
                                                                    3


                                    6. With the aforesaid direction, the writ petition stands disposed of.

                                    7. Registrar (Compliance) to communicate this order to court concerned,
                                    within 48 hours.


                                                                                    (Rohit Ranjan Agarwal,J.)
                                    September 9, 2026
                                    (V. S. SINGH)




Digitally signed by :-
VIDYA SAGAR SINGH
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad


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