Allahabad High Court

SHANTIversusSTATE OF U.P. AND ANOTHER

Decided: 8 September 2026
Bench: AJAY KUMAR II

Holding

The High Court refused to impose a time‑bound disposal direction as no exceptional circumstances were shown.

Summary

The applicant, Shanti, filed an application under Section 529 of the BNSS seeking a court order directing the trial court to decide a pending Domestic Violence Act (Section 12) application within a fixed time. The High Court examined whether it could impose a time‑bound schedule for disposal of the case. Citing Supreme Court judgments in Shaikh Uzma Feroz Hussain v. State of Maharashtra and High Court Bar Association, Allahabad v. State of U.P., the Court held that such directions are permissible only in extraordinary circumstances. The applicant failed to demonstrate any exceptional circumstance, so the Court refused the prayer for a time‑bound order. However, the Court allowed the applicant to move a separate application before the trial court seeking expeditious disposal, with a six‑week deadline for the trial court to decide if such a request is justified.

Issues considered

Whether a High Court can issue a direction for time‑bound disposal of a pending case under Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act via an application under Section 529 of the BNSS
Whether the circumstances in the present case constitute an 'exceptional' situation justifying such a direction

Legislation cited

BNSS — s. 529
Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 — s. 12

Subjects

time‑bound disposal
domestic violence
Section 12
Section 529
exceptional circumstances
court pendency
high court direction

Judgment

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD

APPLICATION U/S 529 BNSS No. - 4164 of 2026

Shanti
.....Applicant(s)
Versus
State of U.P. and Another
.....Opposite
Party(s)

Counsel for Applicant(s) : Mohammad Zafar Yab Khan
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A.

Court No. - 78
HON'BLE DR. AJAY KUMAR-II, J.

1. Heard Mr. Mohammad Zafar Yab Khan, learned counsel for the applicant,
learned A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.

2. The present application under Section 529 of BNSS has been filed by the
applicant with a prayer to direct the Court concerned to decide the Misc.
Criminal Case No. 894 of 2024 (Shanti vs. Ram Banaras and others) under
Section 12 of the Domestic Violence Act, Police Station Dumariaganj,
District Siddharth Nagar, pending in the Court of Additional Civil Judge,
(Junior Division)/ Judicial Magistrate, Court No. 1, Sidhdarth Nagar, within
stipulated period fixed by this Court.

3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the proceedings before the
Court concerned be directed to be concluded in a time-bound manner. It is
submitted by learned counsel for the applicant that in this case, an
application under Section 12 of Domestic Violence Act was filed before the
trial Court on 12.07.2026, which is still pending and has not been decided till
date. Therefore, he requested that a direction to learned trial Court be issued
to decide the aforesaid application within a stipulated period of time.

4. Learned A.G.A. has no objection in this regard if the Court below is not
already overloaded with huge pendency of such cases.

5. Hon'ble Apex Court in Shaikh Uzma Feroz Hussain vs. State of
Maharashtra in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 587 of 2023 has observed
that every High Court and every Court in the country has a huge pendency,
the constitutional Court should avoid temptation of fixing a time bound
schedule for disposal of any case before any Court unless the situation is
extraordinary.
NA529 No. 4164 of 2026
2

6. Hon'ble Apex Court in High Court Bar Association, Allahabad vs.
State of U.P. and others, (2024) 6 SCC 267 has observed in paragraph 42,
which is reproduced as under:-

"Constitutional Courts should not normally fix a time-bound schedule for disposal of
cases pending in any Court. The pattern of pendecny of various categories of cases
pending in every Court, including High Courts, is different. The situation at the
grassroots level is better known to the judges of the concerned Courts. Therefore,
the issue of giving out-of-turn priority to certain cases should be best left to the
concerned Courts. The orders fixing the outer limit for the disposal of cases should be
passed only in exceptional circumstances to meet extraordinary situations."

7. Thus, law as far as issuance of a direction for time-bound/expeditious
disposal has already been well settled that only when an exceptional
circumstance is made out, a direction for time-bound/expeditious disposal of
such a case can be issued not otherwise.

8. Learned counsel for the applicant has failed to make out any exceptional
circumstance to issue direction for time-bound/expeditious disposal of case,
at this stage. Accordingly, the relief sought by way of present application is
hereby refused.

9. Considering the nature of prayer made by learned counsel for the
applicant, the interest of justice would be served, in the event, the applicant
applies before the Court concerned for expeditious disposal of above
mentioned case. Therefore, the applicant is given liberty to move appropriate
application before trial Court concerned for bringing out all such facts,
which are necessary for expeditious disposal of her case within two weeks
from today and in case, such an application is moved, the trial Court shall
decide the same within six weeks from the date of filing of such application.
If, trial Court comes to the conclusion that the case for expeditious disposal
is made out, then in that eventuality, it shall decide the same as expeditiously
as possible within a reasonable period.

10. It is also provided that in the event there is any legal impediment before
the Court concerned in disposal of the case, then the Court concerned shall
pass an appropriate order disclosing the legal impediment as to why the
proceedings of the above mentioned case cannot be proceeded with.

11. With the aforesaid observations/directions, the present application is
disposed of.

September 9, 2026
Monika
(Dr. Ajay Kumar-II,J.)

Digitally signed by :-
MONIKA KESARWANI
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad

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