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Allahabad High Court

AJAYversusSMT. SHASHI SHARMA AND 7 OTHERS

Decided

Holding

The High Court held that it cannot issue a direction to expedite the civil suit under Article 227, as the Supreme Court and prior High Court precedents restrict such time‑bound orders, and dismissed the petition.

Summary

The petitioner, Ajay, filed a writ petition under Article 227 seeking a direction to the Civil Judge (Junior Division) of Hapur to dispose of Civil Suit No. 204 of 2024 within a short, court‑specified period. The High Court examined the recent Supreme Court decision in High Court Bar Association v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2024) 6 SCC 267, which cautioned constitutional courts against imposing time‑bound schedules on lower courts except in exceptional circumstances. It also relied on the Division Bench judgment in Ali Shad Usmani v. Ali Isteba (2015) (2) ADJ 250 (DB), which refused to direct a subordinate court for expeditious hearing absent a clear urgency. Applying these precedents, the Court concluded that it lacked authority to compel the lower court to adhere to a fixed timetable. Consequently, the petition was dismissed, with the Court advising the petitioner to approach the trial court directly for any expeditious disposal application. The writ petition was therefore disposed of without any order as to costs.

Issues considered

  • Can a High Court, exercising its supervisory jurisdiction under Article 227, direct a subordinate civil court to decide a suit within a specified short time?
  • Does the Supreme Court precedent in High Court Bar Association v. State of Uttar Pradesh (2024) preclude such time‑bound directions except in exceptional cases?
  • Is there sufficient urgency in the present case to justify an order for expedited disposal?

Subjects

  • Article 227
  • Writ petition
  • Expeditious disposal
  • Civil suit
  • High Court supervisory jurisdiction
  • Judicial discretion
  • Time‑bound direction

Judgment

           HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
               MATTERS UNDER ARTICLE 227 No. - 13824 of 2026

Ajay
                                                                       .....Petitioner(s)
                                         Versus

Smt. Shashi Sharma And 7 Others
                                                                    .....Respondent(s)

Counsel for Petitioner(s)             : Manoj Kumar Tripathi, Vinod Kumar
                                        Tripathi
Counsel for Respondent(s)             :


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

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

       "(a). issue a direction, direct the learned Civil Judge (J.D.) 1st Hapur to
       decide the Civil Suit No. 204 of 2024 (Smt. Shashi and others Vs. Ajay and
       others) within short span of time 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 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,
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
                                                                A227 No. 13824 of 2026
                                    2


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. 204 of 2024 (Smt. Shashi and others Vs. Ajay and
others) 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.

6. With the aforesaid direction, the writ petition stands disposed of.
                                                                                        A227 No. 13824 of 2026
                                                                 3


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


                                                                                (Rohit Ranjan Agarwal,J.)
                                    October 1, 2026
                                    (V. S. SINGH)




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

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