Allahabad High Court
SMT SUMAN KUMARIversusCHHOTEY LAL
- Decided
- Bench
- ROHIT RANJAN AGARWAL
Holding
A High Court should not direct a subordinate civil court to expedite a suit unless exceptional circumstances exist, as per established Supreme Court and Division Bench precedents.
Summary
Petitioner Smt Suman Kumari filed a writ petition under Article 227 seeking a court order directing the Second Civil Judge (Junior Division) Kasganj to decide her 2019 civil suit against Chhotey Lal within a stipulated period. The High Court referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in High Court Bar Association v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2024) which holds that constitutional courts should not fix time‑bound schedules for cases pending in lower courts except in exceptional circumstances. It also relied on the Division Bench judgment in Ali Shad Usmani v. Ali Isteba (2015) which declined to direct a subordinate court for expeditious hearing of a civil suit. Applying these precedents, the Court declined to issue a direction for expedited disposal, emphasizing that such matters are within the discretion of the trial judge. The Court advised the petitioner to move an application before the trial court for any urgent relief and disposed of the writ petition.
Issues considered
- Whether a High Court can issue a direction under Article 227 to a subordinate civil court to decide a suit within a stipulated time.
- Whether the precedents set by the Supreme Court and Division Bench preclude such directions except in exceptional circumstances.
Subjects
- Article 227
- Article 226
- Writ Petition
- Expeditious Disposal
- Civil Suit
- High Court Direction
- Judicial Discretion
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
MATTERS UNDER ARTICLE 227 No. - 12370 of 2026
Smt Suman Kumari
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
Chhotey Lal
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Komal Prasad Maurya
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 petition, order to direct Second Civil Judge (Junior Division) Kasganj to decide
the Original Suit No. 215 of 2019 (Suman Kumari Versus Chhotey Lal) filed by the
petitioner within stipulated period as fixed by this Hon'ble Court."
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 Constitutional 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, 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
A227 No. 12370 of 2026
2
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 for expediting the
proceedings pending before it.
5. The petitioner may, however, move an application for expeditious disposal of the
Original Suit No.215 of 2019 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 as noted above.
6. With the aforesaid direction, the writ petition stands disposed of.
7. Registrar (Compliance) to communicate this order to the Court concerned within 48
hours.
(Rohit Ranjan Agarwal,J.)
September 9, 2026 // SK Goswami
Digitally signed by :-
SHIVAKANT GOSWAMI
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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