Allahabad High Court
SHAYAM LOHIYAversusSTATE OF U.P.
- Decided
- Bench
- AJAY KUMAR II
Holding
The High Court refused to impose a time‑bound schedule, holding that such directions are permissible only in extraordinary circumstances which were not demonstrated.
Summary
Shayam Lohiya filed an application under Section 529 of the CrPC before the Allahabad High Court seeking a direction that the trial court expedite the pending criminal case (No. 1192 of 2020) involving offences under the IPC, the Public Property Damage Prevention Act and the Criminal Law Amendment Act. The applicant argued that the matter, originating in 2020, remained undecided and should be disposed of within a stipulated period. The State opposed the direction, noting no overload in the trial court. The High Court, relying on Supreme Court precedents (Shaikh Uzma Feroz Hussain v. State of Maharashtra and High Court Bar Association, Allahabad v. State of U.P.), held that time‑bound schedules may be imposed only in extraordinary circumstances, which were not shown. Consequently, the application was refused, but the court permitted the applicant to move a fresh application before the trial court for expeditious disposal, with specific timelines for filing and decision.
Issues considered
- Whether the High Court can direct a lower criminal court to dispose of a pending case within a time‑bound schedule in the absence of exceptional circumstances.
Legislation cited
- Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — s. 529
Subjects
- time‑bound disposal
- exceptional circumstances
- Section 529 CrPC
- pendency of criminal cases
- expeditious disposal
- high court direction
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
APPLICATION U/S 529 BNSS No. - 4316 of 2026
Shayam Lohiya
.....Applicant(s)
Versus
State of U.P.
.....Opposite Party(s)
Counsel for Applicant(s) : Shravan Kumar Singh
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A.
Court No. - 78
HON'BLE DR. AJAY KUMAR-II, J.
1. Heard learned counsel for the applicant, learned A.G.A. for State and perused
material on record.
2. The present application has been filed by the applicant with prayer to direct the
learned trial court to decide/expedite the Case No. 1192 of 2020 (State vs. Vipin Khari
and others) arising out of Case Crime No. 251 of 2017, under Sections 147, 148, 151,
152, 332, 186, 188, 353, 427, 34 IPC and Section 3/4 Public Property Damage
Prevention Act and Section 7 Criminal Law Amendment Act, P.S. Kasna, District
Gautam Budh Nagar, pending before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar
within stipulated period.
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 matter belongs to the year 2020, which is still
pending and has not been decided till now. Therefore, he requested that a direction to
learned trial court be issued to decide the aforesaid case 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 extra ordinary.
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 pendency 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,
NA529 No. 4316 of 2026
2
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
circumstances to issue direction for time-bound/expeditious disposal of case, at this
stage. Accordingly, relief sought by way of present application is hereby refused.
9. Considering the nature of prayer made by 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 the above mentioned case. Therefore, applicant is given a
liberty to move an appropriate application before trial Court concerned for bringing
out all such fact, which are necessary for expeditious disposal of his case within two
weeks from today, and in case such an application is moved, the trial Court shall
decide the same within four weeks from the date of filing of such application. If trial
Court comes to 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. Accordingly, the present application is disposed of with aforesaid direction.
September 9, 2026
Dhirendra/
(Dr. Ajay Kumar-II,J.)
Digitally signed by :-
DHIRENDRA KUMAR
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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