Allahabad High Court
BANDANA @ BANDANA CHAUHAN AND ANOTHERversusPHOOLCHANDRA AND 2 OTHERS
- Decided
- Bench
- MANISH KUMAR NIGAM
Holding
The High Court held that it cannot issue a direction to a subordinate court for the expeditious disposal of a suit and dismissed the petition.
Summary
The petitioners, Bandana and another, filed a writ petition under Article 227 seeking a direction to the Civil Judge (Junior Division) in Jaunpur to decide Original Suit No. 746 of 2024 within a stipulated period, alleging irreparable loss. The High Court observed that the suit has been pending since 2024 with several dates already fixed. Relying on the precedent set in Ali Shad Usmani v. Ali Isteba (2015) ADJ 250 (DB), the Court held that it is inappropriate to issue such directions to subordinate courts merely to expedite a suit, as it creates a preferential class of litigants and burdens the High Court. The Court emphasized that urgency must be assessed by the trial judge and that the petitioners may move an appropriate application before the lower court for expeditious disposal. Accordingly, the writ petition was dismissed without any order as to costs.
Issues considered
- Whether a High Court can issue a direction under Article 227 to a subordinate civil judge to decide a pending suit within a fixed time frame.
- Whether such a direction would violate the principle of equal treatment of litigants and overburden the High Court.
Legislation cited
- Constitution of India — s. Article 226, Article 227
Subjects
- writ petition
- Article 227
- expeditious disposal
- civil suit
- high court jurisdiction
- subordinate court
- priority hearing
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
MATTERS UNDER ARTICLE 227 No. - 3456 of 2026
Bandana @ Bandana Chauhan And Another
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
Phoolchandra And 2 Others
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Sadhana Maurya
Counsel for Respondent(s) :
Court No. - 5
HON'BLE MANISH KUMAR NIGAM, J.
1. Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and perused the record.
2. This petition has been filed with the following prayer:-
" It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this Hon'ble Court may
graciously be pleased to pass an order directing the learned Civil Judge
(J.D.), Jaunpur, to decide the Original Suit No. 746 of 2024 (Bandana
and another Versus Phoolchandra and others), pending before him,
expeditiously within an stipulated period fixed by this Hon'ble court,
otherwise petitioner shall suffer irreparable loss and injury. "
3. From the perusal of order sheet, it appears that the aforesaid suit is
pending since 2024 and several dates have been fixed in the matter.
4. Prayer made in this writ petition is that a direction be issued to the
Court below i.e. Civil Judge (J.D.), Jaunpur to decide the aforesaid suit
within the time frame as may be fixed by this Court.
5. No such direction can be issued in view of the judgment of this Court
passed in the case of Ali Shad Usmani vs. Ali Isteba; 2015 (2) ADJ 250
(DB). The Division Bench of this Court in case of Ali Shad Usmani
(supra) 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 hereunder:-
"We are not inclined to issue a direction for the expeditious hearing of a
A227 No. 3456 of 2026
2
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 disability 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."
6. Accordingly, the present writ petition is disposed of finally, at this
stage, with liberty to the petitioner to move an appropriate application for
expeditious disposal of the aforesaid suit before the Court concerned i.e.
Civil Judge (J.D.), Jaunpur, in accordance with law and in case such an
application is moved, the Civil Judge (J.D.), Jaunpur, shall pass an
appropriate order within reasonable time.
(Manish Kumar Nigam,J.)
March 19, 2026
Nitika Sri.
Digitally signed by :-
NITIKA SRIVASTAVA
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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