Why West UP Deserves a High Court Bench — Access to Justice, Article 14 Equality, Case Pendency, Jaswant Singh Commission, Meerut/Agra Demand

“A sense of confidence in the courts is essential to maintain the fabric of ordered liberty for a free people and three things could destroy that confidence and do incalculable damage to society: that people come to believe that inefficiency and delay will drain even a just judgment of its value; that people who have long been exploited in the smaller transactions of daily life come to believe that courts cannot vindicate their legal rights from fraud and over-reaching; that people come to believe the law – in the larger sense – cannot fulfill its primary function to protect them and their families in their homes, at their work, and on the public streets.”- Chief Justice of the USA – Warren E Burger noted in an address to the American Bar Association in 1970

It is definitely most deeply anguishing to see that the lawyers of 22 districts of West UP out of total 30 districts with more than 10 crore people have been so unitedly agitating for a High Court Bench with full discipline since last about 80 years of independence and I myself have been personal witness to this most sacred agitation since last about 25 years in Meerut yet most disappointingly to no avail! As recently as on 20 September, 2025, the lawyers of West UP of 22 districts protested and held dharna and protested against the step-motherly treatment accorded to West UP with some young lawyers even attempting to pour kerosene on themselves in frustration but saved in time by others as has happened many times in past also because once again Maharashtra which already had multiple High Court Benches at Aurangabad, Nagpur and Panaji was given one more at Kolhapur for just 6 districts and population not touching even 2 crores but West UP with 30 districts and more than 10 crores people has not even a single Circuit Bench! This is definitely most disgusting indeed and presents a most disturbing picture of the sorry state of affairs and “open slaughtering of justice and equality” yet Centre is not doing anything on this even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge appointed by Centre itself about 50 years ago recommended permanent seat of High Court Bench in West UP at Agra yet not created till date anywhere in West UP and on its recommendation one High Court Bench already created at Aurangabad in 1980s itself for just about 7 districts then!

It is a matter of supreme irony that the most populated State of India that is Uttar Pradesh which tops the State list with maximum number of pending cases has just one High Court Bench at Lucknow so close to Allahabad in Eastern UP created 78 years ago in July 1948 and West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court has been attached with not even Lucknow which falls much earlier but right uptill Allahabad to seek justice which in itself is the biggest betrayal of Constitution, deepest burial of justice and worst mockery of poorest litigants of 30 districts of West UP! From a legal standpoint, it is UP which tops the State list in having maximum number of pending cases and so also has maximum population and here too it is West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP and still leave alone High Court or Bench not even a Circuit Bench is ready to concede most disgracefully! I often find myself battling with a moot question: Why is Centre so hell bent in denying West UP even a single Bench and thwarting all chances of creating even a Circuit Bench most spinelessly without any remorse or regret?

By the way, Maharashtra is not most populated State of India nor has maximum number of pending cases and still has so many High Court Benches while big States like UP and Rajasthan having only one each and lawless Bihar with more population than Maharashtra not even one and UP which has more than double the population of Maharashtra has just one and that too so close to Allahabad at Lucknow and litigants of West UP attached with not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad which means whole night and nearly a day wasted in just travelling alone about 700 to 750 km on average by train while Kolhapur and adjoining districts averages 350 to 380 km and still one more High Court Bench in Kolhapur for just 6 districts started functioning from Aug 18, 2025! Why is Supreme Court not taking suo motu cognizance of non-implementation of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission report in West UP even after horrible partition of UP 25 years ago due to this reason only and with what face has it allowed fifth High Court Bench in Kolhapur for just 6 districts whose population is more than 10 times less than that of West UP for whom Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended permanent seat of High Court Bench about 50 years ago is most startling indeed? All I am saying and submitting is: For how long will West UP be deprived from having not just a permanent seat of High Court Bench but even a Circuit Bench so spinelessly and so sinisterly by Centre with Apex Court leaving litigants of West UP at whims and fancies of Centre as we have seen since last about 80 years?

It must be mentioned here that the lawyers of few districts under Agra are protesting separately and they too are demanding nothing but just High Court Bench in West UP! When I just landed in Meerut in 2001, the lawyers of West UP were on 6 months strike and in 2014-15 also we saw 6 months strike apart from strike every Saturday since May 1981 till October 2025 due to most unjustified denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP apart from so many padyatras and hunger strikes etc! It is jaw dropping to note how irrationally Centre has chillingly deprived West UP from having even a single Bench not even a Circuit Bench! Whom is Centre fooling and for how long?

It would be unfair and naive not to recognize that even Apex Court itself since last about 80 years have given open green signal to Centre to most horribly discriminate in the distribution of High Courts and High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions with impunity without ever being held accountable whatsoever in any manner! I am at my wits end to comprehend that what is wrong with the Apex Court which has never bothered to ever take suo motu cognizance of such a serious long festering issue! It distresses me most to see that Apex Court which is custodian of fundamental rights like right to equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution is also since last about 80 years sitting pretty relaxed with folded hands leaving litigants of 30 districts of West UP at whims and fancies of Centre just like in case of litigants of hilly areas of undivided UP who too had to travel thousands of kilometers all the way till Allahabad High Court most mercilessly despite the irrefutable fact that Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended two High Court Circuit Benches at Dehradun and Nainital yet not one created which was the prime reason for the demand of separate Statehood gaining currency and ultimately when huge agitations broke out, we saw separate Statehood itself was granted 25 years ago for hilly areas of undivided UP with just 88 lakh people and so also separate High Court at Nainital! Does Centre want one more partition of UP?

What is Supreme Court meant for when right to equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution is trampled upon most horrendously and most mercilessly by Centre by shamelessly perpetrating most third rated worst discrimination perpetrated in distribution of High Courts, High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions without any rhyme or reason? The sole hegemony of few elite regions like Eastern UP having both High Court at Allahabad and a single High Court Bench at Lucknow so close to each other is continuing uninterrupted for nearly 80 years and so also few elite States like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka and Assam is continuing uninterrupted and yet Supreme Court by never taking suo motu cognizance of it has disgraced itself most horribly leaving its reputation in tatters on this front! It definitely merits course correction at earliest to salvage its lost reputation on this count and must do some honest and serious self introspection on it!

Many people consider Supreme Court to be biggest culprit in not calling a spade a spade and not taking Centre to task for acting so foolishly, fraudulently and fiendishly without any bona fide ground on this key issue! It was very rightly held by the Apex Court in Mahipal vs Rajesh Kumar AIR 2020 SC 670 that:
Justice should not only be done but manifestly seen to be done.” People openly talk now that Supreme Court has attained complete mastery in allowing Centre to most mercilessly discriminate in distribution of High Courts and High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions and without ever being held accountable in any manner by anyone including Supreme Court on whom people rely as last ray of hope! How can Supreme Court allow Centre to make a complete mockery of what equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution stands for? Supreme Court has definitely disgraced itself most openly on this count!

Why is Centre also so infatuated with only few elite five States being granted multiple High Court Benches and on what basis? The most fundamental question to ask here is: How long will Centre keep inventing lame excuses to deny West UP even a single Bench? The moot question that begs an answer is: Why a permanent solution in such an “open and shut” case is remaining elusive and stalemate persisting for nearly 80 years of independence defies logic and is truly incomprehensible? Centre’s complete lackadaisical approach in not addressing this burning issue for so long has thrown up more questions than answers!

Why Centre considers even a single High Court Bench and even a Circuit Bench to West UP as “utopian dream” is truly incomprehensible and most frustrating to watch which gets compounded even more when Apex Court itself displays most atrocious deafening silence on it? What has shaken “national conscience” is that lawless Bihar with more population than Maharashtra which has so many High Court Benches has not even a single Bench not even a Circuit Bench just like West UP! Why Centre finds itself in a predicament in an “open and shut” case? By any measure, it is West UP which is in dire need for a High Court Bench in West UP and the flaws of denying a Bench are now quite ostensible yet Centre wants to do absolutely just nothing on it!

It is definitely absolutely mind blowing and most baffling to see that West UP whose area of 98,000 square km is even more than that of Bihar of 94,000 square km which has High Court but West UP with more than 10 crores people has not even a single High Court Bench nor even a single High Court Circuit Bench yet neither Centre which gets people’s mandate nor Supreme Court which is the final custodian of protecting the fundamental rights of people ever bother to even seriously think about it! The population of West UP is more than nearly all the States in India yet has not even a single Bench! Pragmatically speaking, it would have been far much better if West UP with 30 districts and more than 10 crores people had multiple High Court Benches or ideally a separate High Court itself!

But what is most bone-chilling and gut wrenching to note is that West UP still most horribly does not have even a single High Court Circuit Bench since last nearly 80 years of independence despite owing for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court and a huge population of more than 10 crores and 30 districts yet Apex Court has never dared to ever willingly take suo motu cognizance of this “open fraud”, “open dacoity” and “open molestation” with what is enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution pertaining to “right to equality” which is a fundamental right for all the citizens of India even though it is the final custodian of the Constitution and of protecting legal and constitutional rights of all citizens of India and is fully empowered to do so and cannot wash off its own role by throwing the ball of decision making in the court of Centre and itself be in hibernation mode for centuries as we have been seeing till now when 100 years of independence is standing just at the doorsteps! Will Supreme Court keep waiting till thousand years for Centre to act? This is the real rub and is only serving to tarnish and discredit the otherwise impeccable reputation of Apex Court in speaking up for the deprived, poor and needy!

By any reckoning, every person with even a minimal of knowledge on Constitution knows fully well that Supreme Court is duty bound to act and speak up for litigants of 30 districts of West UP with more than 10 crores people and so also of lawless Bihar which has not even a single High Court Circuit Bench and in stark contrast, smaller States like Karnataka have multiple High Court Benches yet never seen any suo motu cognizance being taken by Supreme Court even though it directly pertains to judiciary itself which definitely makes for most depressing reading! It is a no-brainer that the merciless, unjustified and absurd discrimination perpetrated in distribution of High Courts and High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different states and different regions cannot be ever justified under any circumstances! It is an unfortunate remnant of deeply entrenched bias not set right even after nearly 80 years of independence that urgently needs to be consigned to the past! The importance and urgency of West UP having a Bench cannot be overstated!

The Apex Court in so many cases have asked Centre that:
If one wing of democracy fails, should the court sit idle” as we saw some time back in case of a five member Constitution Apex Court Bench presiding over a Presidential Reference seeking Apex Court’s views on whether it should lay down timelines and procedures for the President and State Governors to grant assent to bills when speaking for the Bench, the incumbent CJI – Hon’ble Mr Justice BR Gavai verbally observed that:
I am a strong believer in doctrine of separation of powers and though judicial activism has to be there, it should not turn into judicial adventurism. But at the same time if one wing of the democracy fails to discharge its duties, should the court, which is the custodian of the Constitution, sit idle and be powerless.” Absolutely right! No denying or disputing it!

One says this not with glee but sorrow that Apex Court has sat idle when it comes to discrimination perpetrated in distribution of High Courts, High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions for about 80 years of independence! By doing so, it has only torn its impeccable reputation on this front to tatters by not ever displaying moral spine to call a spade a spade. Apex Court is not supposed to keep shaking its head in front of Centre like a lamb and keep reiterating that it is for Centre to decide and we can do just nothing on this!

It merits just no reiteration that the Centre’s continued prolonged delay in deciding on this key issue and the Apex Court’s passive stance is a worst blatant violation of Article 14 of Constitution and a grave injustice to the people of West UP. We all know that High Court Benches are meant to strengthen speedy justice and deliver justice at doorsteps yet most unfortunately litigants of West UP keep suffering unduly due to no action on this front by either Centre or Supreme Court. Supreme Court must stop accepting all fake, false and flimsy excuses that are dished out by Centre to arbitrarily deny West UP even a single Bench and act most promptly in this regard for what it is meant to protect the fundamental rights of citizens from being violated with impunity!

Hon’ble CJI Mr BR Gavai very sagaciously pointed out precisely observing that, “To get justice to the man standing at the last mile was important and thus, there has to be decentralization of the judicial system.” This definitely hundred percent applies to West UP and lawless Bihar also! How long will Centre keep fudging, keep fuming needlessly and keep forwarding lame excuses and keep dilly-dallying on such a most pressing issue for an inordinately long spell of time? The common refrain among people is: For how long will more than 10 crore people of West UP be denied even a single High Court Bench by Centre on most baseless grounds? How long will Apex Court also keep maintaining a deafening silence on it?

The incumbent CJI – Hon’ble Mr Justice BR Gavai on June 26, 2025 while speaking at his felicitation that was organized by the Advocates Association of the Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has said most strongly that he supported the demand to set up a Bench of the Bombay High Court at Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra for 6 districts stating that justice should be available to every citizen “in every corner”. He said that:
Every time there is a demand for Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court in Western Maharashtra, I have supported it and given the example of the Aurangabad Bench. I have always supported for a Bench in Kolhapur as no common person should be forced to travel all the way to Mumbai (Bombay HC’s principal Bench) to fight for their rights. More cases are filed in the Aurangabad Bench now than those in the Bombay Bench of the High Court.” To be sure, the incumbent CJI – Hon’ble Mr Justice BR Gavai whose home State is Maharashtra further hastened to add that:
It is not financially possible for everyone to come to Bombay (Mumbai) for each and every hearing. Every citizen in every corner should get justice without having to spend much time and money.” Absolutely right! No disputing it!

Honestly speaking, from the same angle, CJI Mr Justice BR Gavai must also introspect seriously that why 30 districts of West UP with more than 10 crores people and it is West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court which is highest in not just UP but all in all regions of India not just like we see in Kolhapur in Maharashtra where fifth High Court Bench approved for just 6 districts with population not touching even two crores which has started functioning also from 18.08.2025 and still West UP have been most callously denied for so long even a single High Court Bench for whom the architect of Constitution – Dr BR Ambedkar had most vociferously recommended also separate Statehood itself and separate High Court and Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended about 50 years ago a permanent Bench of High Court yet not created till date due to which poorest litigants have to travel whole night and nearly a day all the way till Allahabad to seek justice which in itself is the biggest betrayal of Constitution, deepest burial of justice and worst mockery of poorest litigants of West UP? This is because CJI is Chief Justice of India and not just Chief Justice of Maharashtra only and so he must definitely ensure equality in distribution of High Court Benches among all the States which most unfortunately we don’t see happening right now! Most disgusting indeed!

The distance of Kolhapur and adjoining districts to Bombay was just about 350-380 km for which Bench created and population not touching even two crores but the distance of districts of West UP to Allahabad High Court is 700 -750 km on average and population more than 10 crores yet no Bench not even Circuit Bench! For 6 districts a Bench created at Kolhapur but for 30 districts no Bench created despite Justice Jaswant Singh Commission having recommended permanent seat of High Court Bench in West UP about 50 years ago! Why no one is bothered for the litigants of 30 districts of West UP, not even the CJI himself? What agitates every nerve of my brain is: What is Centre achieving by denying West UP even a single High Court Bench not even a Circuit Bench? Who is guiding rather misguiding Centre to act so unscrupulously and most malignantly without any rhyme or reason?

Leave alone creating two High Court Benches in Uttar Pradesh as in Karnataka in 2008 first as High Court Circuit Benches and then in 2013 as permanent High Court Benches for just four and eight districts only at Gulbarga and Dharwad respectively, Centre for 30 districts has most appallingly kicked out the most strongest recommendation that had been made by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by a former Supreme Court Judge appointed by Centre itself for creation of High Court Bench in West UP at Agra in mid 1980s while having just no compunction to create High Court Bench in Aurangabad in Maharashtra for just 9 districts which already had multiple High Court Benches in Nagpur for just 10 districts and at Panaji for just 2 districts! As if this was not enough, we see most recently fifth High Court Bench in Maharashtra at Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra has started functioning from 18.08.2025 for just 6 districts with shockingly only just 1.64 crore people! What is happening in our country? If this is not biggest cheating by Centre in Indian history then what else is?

In 2014, we saw how Telangana with just 3.5 crore people given separate Statehood itself on June 2, 2014 and so also separate High Court at Hyderabad and separate capital and Andhra Pradesh with population of just 4 crores also given separate High Court at Amaravati after partition in 2014 and a High Court Bench also approved by State Assembly at Kurnool and another at Visakhapatnam is under active consideration! The most serious question that has bubbled up to the fore is: Why has Centre so unscrupulously denied West UP even a single High Court Circuit Bench which deserves separate High Court as recommended by Dr BR Ambedkar who is key architect of Constitution and so also Mayawati when she was UP CM by creating West UP as a separate State? Why Centre is caring a damn for West UP, Purvanchal, Bundelkhand all in UP and so also not even a single in lawless Bihar?

The Aurangabad Bench of Bombay High Court has jurisdiction over just nine districts: Ahmednagar, Aurangabad, Beed, Dhule, Jalna, Jalgaon, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad and Parbhani and when created the number of districts were even less than now. It serves the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and created in 1980s as recommended by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission which recommended maximum 3 High Court Benches for undivided UP including permanent Bench for West UP yet not one created culminating in partition of Uttar Pradesh 25 years ago! Also, the Nagpur Bench of Bombay High Court has territorial jurisdiction over just ten districts of Nagpur, Akola, Amravati, Bhandara, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Wardha and Yavatmal. Panaji Bench of Bombay High Court has jurisdiction over mere two districts – North Goa and South Goa. The Andhra Pradesh High Court Bench at Kurnool has jurisdiction over just eight districts of Rayalaseema. The Gwalior Bench of Madhya Pradesh (MP) High Court covers only five districts – Gwalior, Shivpuri, Guna, Datia and Ashoknagar. The Indore Bench of MP High Court has jurisdiction over 13 districts of Alirajpur, Barwani, Dewas, Dhar, Indore, Jhabua, Mandsaur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Rajgarh, Shajapur, Ujjain and Khargone (West Nimar). The Jalpaiguri Bench of Calcutta High Court in West Bengal has jurisdiction over only four districts – Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar. Port Blair High Court Bench of Calcutta High Court has jurisdiction not over a district but only Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Gulbarga High Court Bench of Karnataka High Court had initially jurisdiction over just four districts of Bidar, Bijapur, Gulbarga (Kalaburagi) and Raichur and then expanded to cover six districts including Yadgir and Bellary. The Dharwad Bench of Karnataka High Court has jurisdiction over just 8 districts of Bagalkot, Dharwad, Bellary, Belgaum, Gadag, Haveri, Uttara Kannada (Karwar) and Koppal districts.

It goes without saying that how much discrimination Centre is perpetrating most ruthlessly and most mercilessly is quite palpable from the most irrefutable fact that the total population of Karnataka is just 6 crore and it has separate High Court and multiple High Court Benches just like Assam with just 4 crore people and Madhya Pradesh with just 7 crore people and West UP with more than 10 crore people is being denied even a single High Court Circuit Bench! The population of Maharashtra is less than half of Uttar Pradesh’s population yet has so many High Court Benches! It is known all too well that Dr BR Ambedkar who is the key architect of Constitution had himself recommended separate Statehood itself for West UP and separate High Court and so also Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Centre itself had had recommended a separate High Court Bench for West UP only to be dumped by Centre in the nearest backyard without any remorse or regret and without assigning any credible reason!

It must be also asked: Why only a handful of elite States like Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka and Assam alone have multiple High Court Benches even though 230th Report of Law Commission of India headed by former Supreme Court Judge - Late Dr AR Lakshmanan had strongly recommended multiple High Court Benches for States most uniformly and on what basis? Who is really master minding such an atrocious, authoritarian, arbitrary, abysmal and arrogant, dastardly, dangerous third-rated discrimination between different States and different regions like we see in UP it is only Eastern UP which has both High Court at Allahabad and a High Court Bench in Lucknow? So also, Andhra Pradesh with just 7 crore population was partitioned in 2014 and Andhra Pradesh left with just 4 crore people who has created High Court Bench in Kurnool and High Court in Amaravati and one more at Vishakhapatnam is under consideration and Telangana with just 3 crore people with High Court at Hyderabad!

It is jaw dropping to note how irrationally Centre has deprived West UP from having even a single Bench not even a Circuit Bench! Why Centre has a deep disdain for big States like UP and Rajasthan from having multiple High Court Benches and other big States like lawless Bihar and Orissa from having even a single Bench is most baffling and truly incomprehensible indeed? What is definitely very rightly being increasingly called into question is Centre’s most partial approach on this key issue which is most gut wrenching to see because even Apex Court has not done anything tangible on this score!

Of course, what is going on in India since last about 80 years in distribution of High Courts and High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions does not represent by any reckoning a true democratic system rather it symbolizes horrendous dictatorship of the highest order worst than what even Hitler did without being held accountable in any manner as we saw when hilly areas of undivided UP for whom Justice Jaswant Singh Commission had recommended two High Court Circuit Benches in Dehradun and Nainital in early 1980s yet not one created and when people agitated with many sacrificing their invaluable lives then the same Centre bestowed not just separate Statehood itself but separate High Court and separate Capital also and no Punjab and Haryana formula of same High Court and same Capital! Does Centre want this to happen in West UP also? Even Mayawati herself as Chief Minister had recommended creation of West UP as separate State to be named “Harit Pradesh” which is all on record!

Why is Centre so rigid in not allowing even a single Bench in any place other than at Lucknow created when Jawaharlal Nehru was PM in July 1948 where it was just not needed at all as it is so close to Allahabad High Court? To borrow JL Nehru’s words himself, “Anything rigid and permanent stops the nation’s growth.” How can Centre ever dare to gloss over or discard what Nehru had himself said so plainly? It merits just no reiteration that too much rigidity ossify into permanent obstacles.

It merits just no reiteration that what is even most frustrating to note is that not a single Judge of Supreme Court ever dared to speak out even till date against this most derisive, divisive, dubious, despicable, discriminatory, derogatory, dangerous and dastardly double standards when even people of hilly areas had to travel thousands of kilometers like slaves all the way till not even Lucknow which has High Court Bench since July 1948 so close to Allahabad High Court itself in Eastern UP but right uptill Allahabad nor ever deemed it fit to take suo motu cognizance of it which is worst betrayal of Constitution, deepest burial of justice and most horribly worst mockery of poorest litigants but on November 9, 2000 people of hilly areas got relief as it got separate High Court and separate Statehood itself but litigants of West UP even 25 years later are still suffering unmitigated endless sufferings even though population of Uttarakhand at time of creation was just 88 lakh and of West UP is more than 10 crore which is more than nearly all States in India except UP of which it is a part and one or two other States and here too margin is not much with no census having been conducted since 2011! This is the prime reason that the latent belief is now slowly and steadily gaining ground among the people that only option now left is that West UP must be given a separate High Court itself by partitioning it from Uttar Pradesh just like Uttarakhand was done about 25 years ago! If Centre still soon does not take any damage control measure then it has definitely no one to blame for agitation for separate Statehood for West UP gaining traction even among common people but its ownself! So the ball is now ostensibly in the court of Centre itself!

The most critical question is: Why Supreme Court never dares to lash out ever at this most brazen, blind, brutal, blatant and baseless discrimination perpetrated in distribution of High Court Benches in not only different States but also different regions like in UP it is only Eastern UP alone which has both High Court and High Court Bench leaving other regions completely unrepresented including hilly areas as long as it formed part of UP, West UP, Purvanchal and Bundelkhand? Why the hell Supreme Court has tolerated most absurdly for so long and is still tolerating such most worst form of dastardly, divisive and double standard absurd discrimination perpetrated against different regions of same State like in UP or between different States and so also in allocating Statehood to different States? Over and above all, how can Centre and top court most mercilessly and most groundlessly keep favouring blind, baseless, blatant and brutal discrimination between different States and different regions and keep rubbishing the most legitimate demand for a High Court Bench in West UP without any bona fide reason as per its own whims and fancies as we see also right now?

Unquestionably, UP would never have been partitioned if Supreme Court had displayed moral spine to order two High Court Circuit Benches in Dehradun and Nainital as was recommended also by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Centre itself and so many innocent persons would not have lost their lives in the demand for Bench escalating into separate Statehood itself! The lawyers of hilly areas and lawyers of West UP unitedly struggled for the implementation of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission in UP where it recommended maximum three High Court Benches yet not even one created most horrendously leading to partition of UP 25 years ago! What if situation in West UP turns out similarly in future with demand for separate Statehood gaining chorus? Who will be held responsible for it? It is Supreme Court and Centre who would be blamed for doing absolutely just nothing on it!

To put it gently, it would not be completely off the mark to say that it is West UP where High Court should now be shifted as the pendency of cases in Allahabad High Court continues to be staggeringly high putting an unprecedented strain on the judicial system and majority of pending cases are from West UP as was conceded by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission also! But what I find most deeply unsettling and so also most perplexing to note is that West UP has not even a High Court Bench nor even just a High Court Circuit Bench and still Supreme Court says nothing! When will it speak up? It must speak up now fearlessly in the interest of justice so that the poorest litigants of West UP stands to gain the most and don’t just keep on suffering endlessly with no end in sight for no fault of theirs!

One must candidly ask: Why is it glossed over that even most eminent legal luminaries and stalwarts like late Mr Ram Jethmalani, late Mr Soli J Sorabjee, Mr Kapil Sibal etc have all time and again reiterated the dire need for setting up a High Court Bench in West UP? Why is it conveniently ignored that Sorabjee himself as Attorney General of India had said in 2001 that:
Centre can create a High Court Bench in West UP without any recommendation from the State Government or the Chief Justice or Governor”? It was in 2001 that lawyers of West UP went on 6 months strike from July to December and so also 6 months strike in 2014-15 apart from Saturday strike since last about 50 years and so many other strikes including hunger strike also for High Court Bench in West UP as the one of 1976!

Why is it also not taken into account that Mr Kapil Sibal as Union Law Minister had recommended for High Court Bench in West UP at Meerut in UPA regime? Even when late Rajiv Gandhi was PM, the demand for High Court Bench in West UP was under active consideration with Centre and the then Union Law Minister Hansraj Bharadwaj conceding the same and also that the demand for Bench in West UP was legitimate! Even former PM late Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Leader of Opposition in 1986 had himself demanded High Court Bench in Parliament for West UP in Meerut! Even as early as 1955, the then UP CM Sampoornanand had recommended High Court Bench in West UP at Meerut! Why is it ignored that even former Supreme Court Bar Association President BN Krishnamani had said that:
Only by the creation of a high court bench in West UP will the people living there get real and effective justice. It should not be denied to them rather should be given at the earliest.” How can the litigants of West UP be left in lurch at whims and fancies of Centre by Apex Court as we have been witnessing since last nearly 80 years?



To say the very least, denial of even a single Bench for West UP does not bode well for the future of the biggest democratic country in the world! The point that I am trying to make is that this burning issue cannot be kept in the backburner any longer. What I find most intriguing is: Why is Centre so unapologetic in doing just nothing to resolve it and why not a single Bench created in UP in last 78 years? Why West UP is getting such raw treatment from West UP despite contributing maximum to State’s economy and despite owing for majority of pending cases of UP which is highest not only in just UP but so also in any region of India?

In any case, it has now definitely warmed the innermost cockles of my heart and mind to read that none other than one of the most eminent former Supreme Court Judge Hon’ble Mr Justice Markandey Katju who has himself practiced in Allahabad High Court from 1970 to 1991 with specialization in Taxation, Labour Laws and Writ Petition and is one of the most distinguished jurists that India has ever produced known all across the globe and was also appointed Acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court in August 2004 and so also was Chief Justice of Madras High Court in November 2004 and also of Delhi High Court in October 2005 has in a eye-opener blog titled: “The Demand For A Western Bench Of Allahabad HC Is Justified” published on September 24, 2025 in website named “Medium” written that:
While I do not approve of blocking roads, I believe that the demand for a bench of the Allahabad High Court in western Uttar Pradesh is fully justified. The reason is simple: litigants of western UP face a huge financial and logistical burden when they are compelled to travel all the way to Allahabad, which is in eastern UP. The Justice Jaswant Singh Committee, after studying the matter in great detail, came to the same conclusion. There are several benches of the Madhya Pradesh High Court and the Bombay High Court. Similarly, the Madurai bench of the Madras High Court, which was created in July 2004 when I was Chief Justice of that court, was established for the very same reason: litigants in southern Tamil Nadu found it prohibitively expensive and inconvenient to travel to Chennai in the north. On exactly the same logic, there is no reason why western UP should be denied a bench of the Allahabad High Court.

Opposition from Allahabad Lawyers
The only real opposition comes from lawyers at Allahabad. Their fear is not hidden — they worry that their incomes will decline because many wealthy clients come from western UP, while eastern UP is relatively poor. But this argument cannot stand. The judiciary exists to serve litigants, not lawyers. Convenience and access to justice for the people must be the overriding consideration, not the professional interests of advocates in Allahabad.

Conclusion
Therefore, the demand for a western UP bench of the Allahabad High Court is not only reasonable and just, it is long overdue. Justice delayed by distance and financial hardship is justice denied.” I fully endorse what former Supreme Court Judge – Hon’ble Mr Justice (Retd) Markandeya Katju has pointed out hereinabove in detail which I have quoted and I too don’t support blocking of roads but lawyers of West UP resort to it for a very short span of time because no one is listening to them and only to draw the much needed attention of the Government to the most legitimate and compelling dire demand for a High Court Bench in West UP! Even BBC News has pointed out glaringly very recently that West UP despite owing for majority of pending cases of UP has been mercilessly denied even a single High Court Bench which is on record and now whole world is talking about it how Centre is most mercilessly trampling upon what is enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution even though it is West UP which contributes hugely more than half to the State’s total economy only to see its poorest litigants being punished in this dastardly manner so ruthlessly! Similarly in lawless Bihar we see most atrociously that it has not even a single High Court Bench!

Why Supreme Court never dares to lash out ever at this most brazen, blind, brutal, blatant and baseless discrimination perpetrated in distribution of High Court Benches in not only different States but also different regions like in UP it is only Eastern UP alone which has both High Court and High Court Bench leaving other regions completely unrepresented including hilly areas as long as it formed part of UP, West UP, Purvanchal and Bundelkhand? Why the hell Supreme Court has tolerated most absurdly for so long and is still tolerating such most worst form of dastardly, divisive and double standard absurd discrimination perpetrated against different regions of same State like in UP or between different States and so also in allocating Statehood to different States? If Apex Court had taken Centre to task for not implementing the landmark recommendations of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission in undivided UP then perhaps UP would never have been partitioned 25 years ago!

What has left me completely shocked, absolutely stunned, totally shaken and shattered to the hilt just like other lawyers of West UP and litigants is that even after nearly 80 years, Centre is least bothered to do anything serious on such a most burning issue directly affecting more than 10 crore people living in West UP especially litigants! It is well settled and well known all over that this core, compelling and critical issue of setting up a High Court Bench in West UP has been on the table since independence yet most unfortunately keeps getting pushed back to the oblivion! How long will Centre keep on neglecting intentionally such a most serious issue? 78 years have already flown under the bridge of time!

What I find most deeply unsettling and most perplexing to note is that West UP has not even a High Court Bench nor even just a High Court Circuit Bench and still Supreme Court says nothing! When will it speak up? It must speak up now fearlessly in the interest of justice so that the poorest litigants of West UP stands to gain the most and don’t keep on suffering endlessly with no end in sight! No denying or disputing it!

To put it bluntly: The bogey that West UP needs no Bench needs to be most strongly debunked! Rather I will ask: What was the dire need for a High Court Bench in Lucknow so near to Allahabad where High Court itself is located yet it has High Court Bench since July 1, 1948? The point to reflect on is: How long will West UP be mercilessly deprived from having even a single Bench? The most critical question is: How much more time will Centre senselessly keep purchasing to settle this long pending High Court Bench issue in West UP knowing it fully well that West UP owes for majority of pending cases of UP and contributes 80 percent to State’s economy yet litigants from this region are made to suffer the most as both High Court and a single Bench are in Eastern UP only and nowhere else and most intriguingly West UP attached with not even Lucknow but most farthest with Allahabad which means litigants of 30 districts of West UP have to travel 600-800 km on average so far away and yet no one bothers not even CJI himself as I have never heard him saying anything like he said for Kolhapur which is just about 382 km from Mumbai where High Court is located?

It is definitely as clear as broad daylight that which State needs more High Court Benches! It is UP which tops the State list in having maximum number of pending cases in India and here too it is West UP which owes for majority of the pending cases of UP as was conceded even by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission itself yet UP has just one Bench so close to Allahabad High Court at Lucknow and lawless Bihar has not even a single Bench despite its population being more than most of the States except UP! This is the real tragedy and real worst discrimination in distribution of High Court Benches in different States! How can any CJI ever decide to remain wholly silent on this shocking, shameless and senseless discrimination? Denial of even a single Bench to West UP is wholly untenable and needs to be given a Bench at the earliest without any more dilly-dallying now!

Why is Centre so ambivalent and inimical in taking any proactive step that goes a long way in resolving this key issue at the earliest? One can’t fathom that why Centre has behaved so partially, so irrationally and so undemocratically that the most populated State of India with maximum number of pending cases was given only one Bench and that too very close to Allahabad itself and worst of all attached litigants of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP with not even Lucknow which is more than 230 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad as if India was still being ruled by colonial Britishers with even Lahore in Pakistan closer to West UP as compared to Allahabad High Court? This is exactly that has led to catastrophic results and culminated in partition of UP into UP and Uttarakhand in 2000! Will any democratic country behave in such autocratic manner?

Is this democratic or autocratic style of functioning? Centre’s approach in this regard in last nearly 80 years has been most diabolically outrageous and has to be most strongly condemned! Why these elected representatives are behaving like monarchs depriving the people from having easy and affordable justice at doorsteps is truly incomprehensible? What are they achieving by behaving so absurdly just like an unaccountable monarch?

Why this High Court Bench issue in West UP has most mysteriously remained in limbo for so long? Why can’t Centre bury the hatchet and move forward to balance the regional imbalance of Eastern UP having both High Court at Allahabad and a single Bench at Lucknow so close to each other and West UP inspite of owing for majority of pending cases of UP for whom Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended permanent seat of High Court Bench yet even after nearly 50 years not even a Bench created nor even a Circuit Bench created! What I find most deeply unsettling is that even now we see that neither the Supreme Court nor Centre is ready to open its eyes and take most concrete action to dismember the most historical, Himalayan blunder committed about 80 years ago! Denying West UP and Bihar even a single High Court Bench is not just illogical but also deeply insensitive, deeply flawed and most deeply discriminatory also that has gone unnoticed, unchecked and unaddressed for so long! Apex Court has definitely not crowned itself with glory by doing absolutely just nothing on this front since last nearly 80 years of independence!

I must add here that it is certainly high time now and the worst discrimination that has been perpetrated in judiciary itself since last 75 years of completion of Constitution must be definitely addressed at the earliest! Frustration stems in minds of litigants of West UP due to no Bench in this region inspite of such a huge population of more than 10 crores more than majority of the States in India and majority of the countries in the world! High Court Benches are tools to be used to strengthen speedy justice and “justice at doorsteps” as recommended most strongly and most sagaciously by the 230th Report of Law Commission of India prepared under Chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge Late Dr AR Lakshmanan and other legal experts for all States and High Court Benches are not some gold ornaments to be just locked up in few elite States alone as per ruling elite own whims and fancies as we see most unfortunately and most disgracefully since last nearly eight decades!

With a very heavy heart, I want to say that Centre has been most deadly biased in denying West UP even a single Bench! You don’t need a huge telescope to see that which State should have maximum High Court Benches as it is the most populated State of India with maximum number of pending cases! How long will Supreme Court be in complete hibernation mode on this count and keep watching with folded hands like a spectator with 79 years already flown under the bridge of time leaving everything on Centre alone who is doing absolutely just nothing on it most astoundingly? It has to be certainly acknowledged with grace that denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP which is also highest for any region in India is not only most dangerous and most deleterious but also most disastrous, most despicable and most discriminatory indeed!

My point is very clear: This definitely cannot under any circumstances continue endlessly! I am of the most considered view that Centre is taking far too long for deciding in an “open and shut” case of High Court Bench in West UP! What I find really most troubling and so also most demoralizing and most disgusting is that this key issue directly pertains to judiciary and it is a grave violation of what is envisaged in Article 14 about equality in Constitution yet Apex Court also has most astoundingly and inexplicably desisted in last nearly 80 years of independence in taking a proactive stand on it and in ensuring that West UP has a High Court Bench so that the litigants don’t keep on suffering endlessly! Why there is no sense of shame left in Supreme Court which till date has not taken suo motu cognizance of most worst third rated discrimination perpetrated in distribution of High Courts and High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions for such a long spell of time? When UP can have maximum airports and maximum super expressways then why only one Bench so close to Allahabad High Court and litigants of West UP attached with not Lucknow Bench but far away till Allahabad most mercilessly with poorest litigants bearing the worst brunt and yet Apex Court maintains a deafening silence on it!

It is a no-brainer that if Supreme Court still does not act soon in ensuring complete impartiality in creation of High Court and High Court Benches and so also High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions then it will be squarely held responsible for denigrating, denuding and destroying its own reputation in eyes of people of being totally impartial in dispensation of justice! There can be thus just no gainsaying that Apex Court and so also Centre must definitely always remember itself the permanent validity of the time-tested dictum that:
Justice must not only be done but also must be seen to be done.” No denying it!

Will creation of more High Court Benches ensure or hinder the rule of law? No prizes for guessing the clear writing on the wall! Why the most legitimate voice of the litigants of West UP for a High Court Bench has been throttled for so long despite West UP owing for majority of pending cases of UP and contributing to more than 80% of State’s economy? The crux of the problem is: Centre is least interested in taking any pains to seriously resolve this long pending issue which definitely has to be roundly and most strongly condemned!

Why is Centre so ambivalent and inimical in taking any proactive step that goes a long way in resolving this key issue at the earliest? One can’t fathom that why Centre has behaved so partially, so irrationally and so undemocratically that the most populated State of India with maximum number of pending cases was given only one Bench and that too very close to Allahabad itself and worst of all attached litigants of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP with not even Lucknow which is more than 230 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad as if India was still being ruled by colonial Britishers with even Lahore in Pakistan closer to West UP as compared to Allahabad High Court? This is exactly that has led to catastrophic results and culminated in partition of UP into UP and Uttarakhand in 2000 because Uttarakhand was denied even a Circuit Bench as long as it formed part of UP even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission had recommended two High Court Benches at Dehradun and Nainital! This begs the all-important question: Will any democratic country behave in such autocratic manner?

The most critical question is: Is this democratic or autocratic style of functioning? Is Centre really serious in addressing it? Centre’s approach in this regard in last nearly 80 years has been most diabolically outrageous and has to be most strongly condemned! Why these elected representatives are behaving like monarchs depriving the people from having easy and affordable justice at doorsteps is truly incomprehensible? The genie is now out of the bottle and so Centre must now act most promptly!

No doubt, Centre needs to take off the rose coloured glasses and see the ground reality on how partially it has acted by depriving West UP from having even a single Bench for so long! Plainly speaking, why can’t Centre be more accommodative in its approach in ensuring to say the very least multiple High Court Benches for big States like UP, Rajasthan and Bihar? In the final analysis, the question that will have to be answered is: Why is Centre so miser in most needy and big States like UP, Bihar and Rajasthan which all must have multiple High Court Benches but have either one or none which makes for most depressing reading? When PM Modi talks of “Nagrik Devo Bhava (the citizen should be served like God), it’s a statement of aspirational hope and just a myth, not a lived reality because litigants of 30 districts of West UP have to travel by train whole night and nearly a day all the way till Allahabad to seek justice which in itself is the biggest injustice that cannot be ever justified nor can be just glossed over! What is at stake is the right of the litigants to get speedy and affordable justice at doorsteps!

It is definitely as clear as broad daylight that which State needs more High Court Benches yet why Centre and policy makers are acting like duffers and depriving West UP and lawless Bihar from having even a single High Court Circuit Bench? It is UP which tops the State list in having maximum number of pending cases in India and here too it is West UP which owes for majority of the pending cases of UP as was conceded even by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission itself and contributes maximum to State’s economy yet accorded step-motherly treatment as UP has just one Bench so close to Allahabad High Court at Lucknow since July 1948 when even Constitution had not been enacted and lawless Bihar has still not even a single Bench despite its population being more than most of the States except UP! This is the real tragedy and real worst discrimination in distribution of High Court Benches in different States! How can any CJI ever decide to remain wholly silent on this shocking, shameless and senseless discrimination? Denial of even a single Bench to West UP is wholly untenable and needs to be given a Bench at the earliest without any more dilly-dallying now!

Why this High Court Bench issue in West UP has most mysteriously remained in limbo for so long? When will the creation of a Bench in West UP reach its final leg? Why can’t Centre bury the hatchet and move forward to balance the regional imbalance of Eastern UP having both High Court at Allahabad and a single Bench at Lucknow so close to each other and West UP inspite of owing for majority of pending cases of UP for whom Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended permanent seat of High Court Bench yet even after nearly 50 years not even a Bench created nor even a Circuit Bench created! What I find most deeply unsettling is that even now we see that neither the Supreme Court nor Centre is ready to open its eyes and take most concrete action to dismember the most historical, Himalayan blunder committed about 80 years ago! Denying West UP and Bihar even a single High Court Bench is not just illogical but also deeply insensitive, deeply flawed and most deeply discriminatory also that has gone unnoticed, unchecked and unaddressed for so long!

I must add that it is certainly high time now and the worst discrimination that has been perpetrated in judiciary itself since last 75 years of completion of Constitution must be definitely addressed at the earliest! Let me say this with full sense of responsibility: Frustration stems in minds of litigants of West UP due to no Bench in this region inspite of such a huge population of more than 10 crores which is more than majority of the States in India and so also majority of the countries in the world and so also owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court which is maximum not just among all regions of UP but also among all other regions of India yet has not even a Circuit Bench! What is all the fuss about in creating even a single Bench? The interminable delay in resolving this long lingering High Court Bench issue in West UP cannot be ever justified or condoned on any pretext whatsoever and is most jarring!

At the end of the day, one has to concede in all fairness that it is high time and Centre must now appreciate that High Court Benches are tools to be used to strengthen speedy justice and “justice at doorsteps” as recommended most strongly and most sagaciously by the 230th Report of Law Commission of India prepared under Chairmanship of former Supreme Court Judge Late Dr AR Lakshmanan and other legal experts for all States and High Court Benches are not some gold ornaments to be just locked up in few elite States alone as per ruling elite own whims and fancies as we see most unfortunately and most disgracefully since last nearly eight decades! Speedy and affordable justice at doorsteps is an inalienable part of any democratic polity which is possible only by creation of more High Court Benches in different States!

More broadly, Centre must take a holistic view and address it by keeping at the back of mind the most serious problems faced by litigants of West UP in travelling so far till Allahabad which practically is most severe punishment and biggest injustice than process to achieve justice and still for nearly 80 years has gone unchecked! How long will Centre keep the pot ever boiling by doing nothing to address this long lingering key issue? What is Centre achieving by denying West UP even a single Bench without any rhyme or reason? How long will Supreme Court also keep turning a blind eye to it just like Centre? Why is Apex Court in conundrum in such an “open and shut” case?

It is most shocking that UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 26 crore as CM Yogi Adityanath and so also PM Narendra Modi always so very proudly claims, maximum districts - 75, maximum constituencies - 80, maximum MPs – 80, maximum MLAs - 404, maximum PM including Narendra Modi who represents Varanasi as an MP, maximum pending cases – more than 11 lakh in Allahabad High Court and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57% and now after so many decades the percentage of pending cases in West UP has gone substantially much higher, maximum cases in lower courts about to touch 1 crore, maximum Judges both in High Court – 160 and also in lower courts, maximum vacancies of Judges both in High Court and also in lower courts, maximum members in UP Bar Council more than 3 lakh and which is also the largest Bar Council in the world as claimed in the website itself of UP Bar Council yet the former Chairman of UP Bar Council – Darvesh Yadav who was the first woman to get appointed to this post was murdered cold blooded right in court premises in Agra which is again in West UP on June 12, 2019 by pumping bullets on her head and stomach, maximum poverty, maximum villages more than one lakh the exact number being 107040, maximum gram panchayats at 74626, maximum fake encounters killings, maximum official encounters more than 15,000 from 2017 till date, maximum custody killings, maximum dowry cases, maximum bride burning cases, maximum cases of human rights violations, maximum robberies, maximum dacoities, maximum cases of crime, loot, arson and riots and here too West UP tops with Saharanpur riots, Meerut riots, Muzaffarnagar riots tarnishing our international reputation to the extent that former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon termed UP as “crime and rape capital” of India and just recently we see after Bahraich even Fatehpur and now most recently even Bareilly in West UP coming in news for shameless communal disturbances most recently, maximum undertrials in all age groups and what not yet Centre till now in October 2025 from July 1948 when a Bench was created in Lucknow which is so close to Allahabad and where it was just not needed at all is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but for the entire UP nor even ready to attach 30 districts of West UP with more than 10 crore population which is more than majority of States with Lucknow? How can Centre ever deny, distort or dispute such most irrefutable facts? What exacerbates matters is Centre stonewalling any attempt to create a Bench in West UP or any other part of UP except Eastern UP!

Much water has flown down the bridge since India became independent in 1947 but the most stark truth is that even nearly 80 years later in October 2025, we see that West UP is without a High Court Bench which is definitely most deplorable, most dangerous, most self destructive and most discriminatory that even Supreme Court has dared not to ever intervene even when UP was undivided! Why Supreme Court has tolerated such dastardly discrimination in distribution of High Court Benches in different States and in different regions? If this is not the biggest tight slap on Constitution and Dr BR Ambedkar, then what else is? I just don’t buy any rubbish argument forwarded by Centre to deny West UP even a single High Court Bench even when UP was undivided and Centre knows fully well that the High Courts and Benches of so many States like Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh among others are much closer to West UP than Allahabad High Court with even Lahore High Court in Pakistan being much closer to West UP! But here we see that incumbent CJI – Hon’ble Mr Justice BR Gavai never utters even a single word on it just like his predecessors which is most disappointing to watch!

To conclude, there can be just no beating about the bush that Supreme Court without wasting any more time must now immediately take suo motu cognizance of this long pending High Court Bench issue in West UP at the earliest as it brooks no more delay any longer now just like it took when it found cheating in a Mayor election in Chandigarh some time back which was much applauded also and not just keep leaving the poorest litigants of West UP at the whims and fancies of Centre as we have been witnessing most unfortunately since last about 80 years saying that keep waiting for 100 years or even 1000 years as it is for Centre to decide and we have got just nothing to do with it most horribly which will only dent its own credibility further which can be good for the future of a democratic country like India! It will be hasty to conclude that West UP cannot ever have a High Court Bench but it is high time that this long lingering key issue is settled now once and for all as it brooks no more delay any longer now! It is an issue that demands deep and urgent reflection by both Centre and top court and immediate redressal!

It is an unfortunate remnant of deeply entrenched bias that urgently needs to be consigned to the past! For this, it is Apex Court which must swing into action and take suo motu cognizance of it and demand accountability from Centre in this regard! Doing so, however, is easier said than done because Centre has always trivialized it but it is high time now and this key issue must not be allowed by the top court to be swept under the carpet by Centre any longer now on one pretext or the other as we have been witnessing since such an inordinately long period of time! No denying or disputing it! Most disconcertingly, we see that Centre till date has taken no tangible and credible steps to resolve this long lingering issue that has been simmering for so long and this has only served to deprive litigants of West UP from achieving “easy and affordable justice at doorsteps” which definitely makes for most depressing reading yet Centre is least bothered about doing anything on it for so long by trotting out one lame excuse or the other!

Of course, there can be just no gainsaying that the last ray of hope that is left for people after facing maximum disappointment everywhere is only in Apex Court itself and if it too does not do anything and keep telling people to turn to Centre whom they have elected then it can only be said most deplorably that we are a democratic country only in just papers alone and not in real life where we are ruled by an authoritarian regime who works with a sadistic pleasure to most intentionally deprive big States like UP and Rajasthan from having multiple High Court Benches and some other big States like lawless Bihar and Orissa from having even a single High Court Bench not even a Circuit Bench despite being most fully aware of the acute need for the same! This is nothing but absolute absurdity of the highest order yet hardly ever get reported in newspapers a