Allahabad High Court
ANJU SINGHversusSTATE OF U.P. AND 5 OTHERS
- Decided
- Bench
- MANJU RANI CHAUHAN
Holding
A writ petition may be dismissed as infructuous when the petitioner’s counsel fails to appear and does not indicate that the cause of action still exists.
Summary
The petitioner, Anju Singh, filed a writ petition (Writ‑A No. 7558 of 2022) before the Allahabad High Court seeking relief against the State of U.P. and five other respondents. The matter had been pending since 2022 and was listed under the oldest pending cases for a priority hearing. A notice on the court’s board required that such old cases be taken up and that non‑appearance could lead to dismissal as infructuous unless the cause of action still survived. Neither the petitioner’s counsel appeared nor was the petition marked to indicate a surviving cause of action. The Court observed that the petitioner appeared to have lost interest or that the petition had become infructuous, and consequently dismissed the writ petition as infructuous. The judgment also permitted the petitioner to file a recall or restoration application if a cause of action still existed.
Issues considered
- Whether a writ petition pending for an extended period can be dismissed as infructuous due to non‑appearance of counsel and lack of indication that the cause of action survives.
Subjects
- writ petition
- infructuous dismissal
- non‑appearance
- cause of action
- old pending cases
- Allahabad High Court
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT - A No. - 7558 of 2022
Anju Singh
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
State Of U.P. And 5 Others
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Abhishek Kumar Yadav, Ravindra Nath
Yadav
Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C., Hari Narayan Singh, Suresh
Kumar, Yogendra Singh Bohra
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 2022. 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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