Allahabad High Court
ANIL PRATAPversusSTATE OF U.P. AND 5 OTHERS
- Decided
- Bench
- MANJU RANI CHAUHAN
Holding
A writ petition is dismissible as infructuous when the petitioner fails to appear and does not indicate that a cause of action still subsists.
Summary
The petitioner filed a writ petition in 2021, but neither the petitioner nor his counsel appeared for the hearing. The court had issued a notice that old cases up to 2022 would be heard and dismissed as infructuous if no cause of action survived or the parties failed to appear. Since the petitioner did not appear and did not mark the case to show that a cause of action still existed, the court inferred that the petition had become infructuous. Consequently, the writ petition was dismissed as infructuous, with a liberty to file a recall or restoration application if any cause of action remains. The decision was pronounced by Justice Manju Rani Chauhan on 18 March 2026.
Issues considered
- Whether a writ petition pending for a long period and unattended by the petitioner can be dismissed as infructuous
Subjects
- infructuous petition
- non-appearance
- writ petition
- court procedure
- cause of action
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT - A No. - 5941 of 2021
Anil Pratap
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
State Of U.P. And 5 Others
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Naresh Kumar Pal
Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C.
Court No. - 52
HON'BLE MRS. MANJU RANI CHAUHAN, J.
Case is called out. None appears for the parties.
The case is listed in the category of oldest pending cases in the cause list, for
priority hearing.
A notice has been placed on the notice board specifically, mentioning that
"old cases up to the year 2022 shall be taken up in the first round itself. In
case of non-appearance, matter shall be dismissed as infructuous or
otherwise, and in the cases, where the cause of action still survives, the
concerned advocates are expected to mark them accordingly in the cause list.
Failure to do so, may result in its dismissal as infructuous" but, neither the
counsel for the petitioner has appeared nor has the case been marked to
indicate that the cause of action still survives.
Record shows that the matter is pending since the year 2021. It appears that
either the petitioner has lost interest in pursuing the matter or it has become
infructuous.
Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed as infructuous.
Needless to say that the petitioner shall be at liberty to file recall/restoration
application in case any cause of action still survives.
March 18, 2026
Vinod.
(Mrs. Manju Rani Chauhan, J.)
Digitally signed by :-
VINOD KUMAR JAISWAL
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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