Some things you must always be unable to bear. Some things you must never stop refusing to bear. Injustice and outrage and dishonor and shame. No matter how young you are or how old you have got. Not for kudos and not for cash: your picture in the paper nor money in the bank either. Just refuse to bear them. -- William Faulkner (1897-1962)

If there is one key issue that perfectly aligns with the words of William Faulkner—an eminent American writer and one of the 20th century’s greatest novelists—it is the blatant denial of a High Court Bench to Western Uttar Pradesh (West UP). Despite West UP accounting for the majority of pending cases in Uttar Pradesh, which itself has the highest number of pending cases in India, it remains unjustly deprived of even a single High Court Bench. This is undeniably a disastrous situation.

What is even worse is that litigants from 30 districts of West UP have been arbitrarily attached not to Lucknow, where a High Court Bench has existed since July 1948 in Eastern UP, but to Allahabad—over 250 km away from Lucknow. This means that the poorest litigants from these districts must travel overnight and nearly a full day by train to attend court hearings, making a mockery of justice. This situation is not only unconstitutional but also reminiscent of the hardships faced by litigants from the hilly regions of undivided UP, who were forced to travel thousands of kilometers to Allahabad before Uttar Pradesh was partitioned—a fact that political parties refuse to acknowledge.

The trials and tribulations faced by the litigants of West UP due to the absence of a High Court Bench, despite the region having the highest number of pending cases, are unending. Yet, the central government has done absolutely nothing to address this grave injustice, and the media has utterly failed to highlight it effectively.

You don’t need a telescope to see that which State should have maximum High Court Benches as it is the most populated State! How long will Supreme Court be in hibernation mode? It has to be acknowledged with grace that denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP is not only dangerous and deleterious but also most disastrous and most discriminatory!

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! 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? But yes I must concede and be on same page with eminent journalist Tavleen Singh who in her enlightening editorial titled Investment needed in people published in The Sunday Express newspaper dated March 16, 2025 points out and concedes that:
In fairness to Narendra Modi, it must be said that since he became Prime Minister the speed at which roads, ports, airports and other vital infrastructure is being built has been truly remarkable. But in the same vein, I will hasten to add that why so miserliness when it comes to creating High Court Benches and why in last about 11 years in power, we see that not even a single High Court Bench has been created in any State? When will this draught on Bench end especially in UP, Bihar and Rajasthan?

Why Centre favours unjustified discrimination on this count? The most ticklish question is: Why Centre fails to display political will power to address this long pending issue? One has to say with extreme dismay that Centre has always tried to play safe and has not taken any interest nor demonstrated any political will in resolving this Bench issue prolonging it foolishly for nearly 80 years which is nothing but absolute stupidity of the highest order!

Huge pending cases in Allahabad High Court taken note recently even by Apex Court is inextricably linked to West UP being attached with it and not with even Lucknow and majority of cases are from West UP which all the more necessitates a separate High Court Bench but has not materialized most pathetically till date even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge recommended about 50 years ago a permanent Bench for West UP! Why is Centre in a quandary in such an open and shut case? For all practical purposes, there is no reason that why a High Court Bench cannot be created in West UP!

I just don’t buy the most rubbish argument that except Lucknow in Eastern UP so close to Allahabad High Court, no other city in UP is fit to be given even a single Bench! To recapitulate, we saw how Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended High Court Circuit Bench for Nainital and Dehradun about 50 years ago yet not created but when people agitated for separate State then we saw how Nainital which was earlier denied even a Circuit Bench till it formed part of UP became fit to have separate High Court on partition of UP in 2000 about 25 years ago when Uttarakhand came into existence as State! This is exactly what perception is all about!

How long will the unjustified monopoly of few regions and few States in distribution of High Court and High Court Benches continue unrestricted without any pragmatic reason to justify it? It is a no-brainer that the denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP is plainly unconstitutional! Why no tremors ever felt even in Supreme Court over West UP having not even a single High Court Bench which takes suo motu cognizance in cheating in Mayor elections as we saw in Chandigarh Mayor elections? This is all the more most distressing because it directly concerns judiciary yet nothing done absolutely just nothing most astoundingly even by top court! If Supreme Court still tolerates this worst discrimination in judiciary itself then with what face can it fret, fume and fulminate over discrimination in other streams?

If the top court had ordered creation of two High Court Benches as recommended by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission for hilly areas of undivided UP perhaps UP would never have been partitioned but most unfortunately we did not see any suo motu cognizance being taken which was the most fit case in this earth! This alone explains why it is said that:
Supreme Court is final but is definitely not infallible! Failure to act even now depriving West UP from having even a single Bench will slowly but surely and inexorably exacerbate the huge pending cases in UP till it explodes with nation bearing worst casualty as it is UP which is most populated State of India with maximum pending cases and not MP or Karnataka or Maharashtra or West Bengal or Assam!

In the fitness of things, the newly elected President of Meerut Bar Association – Mr Sanjay Sharma has most firmly resolved to take the most sacred fight of creating a High Court Bench in West UP to its logical conclusion and will accord it topmost priority most commendably as mentioned in local newspapers like Dainik Jagran dated 7-3-2025 in top news headlines! Just recently, we saw acid was thrown in the most ghastly manner on woman lawyer in Moradabad in West UP right inside court premises! Many such horrific criminal acts clearly portrays how most unjustly Centre has been most complicit in depriving West UP from having even a single Bench which is plainly unconstitutional yet Supreme Court has been in hibernation on such a key issue for nearly 80 long years! This is the real tragedy!

It is a no-brainer that such gruesome incidents in West UP clearly depict the unpalatable truth which ruling elite never wants to confront candidly and honestly! What I find absolutely most inexplicable is that why only Eastern UP has both High Court and a single Bench so close to each other and nowhere else? It is as clear as broad day sunlight that which State of India needs more High Court Benches because it is UP which has maximum population and maximum pending cases and here too it is crystal clear that which part of UP needs more Benches as it is West UP which owes for majority of the pending cases of UP and yet has not even a single High Court Bench leave alone having High Court itself as ideally should be!

Why Centre has been so unscrupulous in denying West UP from having even a single High Court Bench? No senseless arguments no matter how carefully crafted by Centre can ever on earth justify the denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP with more than 10 crores population which is more than majority of the States in India and so also owes for majority of pending cases of UP and is higher than the population of most of the States and still most perplexingly we see that there is not even a single Bench in West UP! It is fair to say for sure that Centre needs to do a lot more than what it is doing to resolve this long simmering issue!

It is definitely most heartening, most reassuring, most rejuvenating, most refreshing and so also most rejoicing to read in newspapers and news channels that none other than Mr Atul Pradhan who is a distinguished Samajwadi Party MLA from Sardhana seat adjoining Meerut has most forcefully pitched for the creation of a High Court Bench in West UP in UP Vidhan Sabha as litigants have to travel about 700 to 800 km on average all the way worse than a donkey by train who cannot afford plane travel till Allahabad! Attaching litigants with not even Lucknow which is more than 250 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad which averages 700 to 800 km on average to seek justice which in itself is the biggest betrayal of what the concept of equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution stands for, most brutal stabbing of justice and to top it all is the worst mockery of poorest litigants of West UP! Why every Prime Minister has behaved like a copy cat of Jawaharlal Nehru who ensured a High Court Bench in Lucknow in July 1948 just like capital of Uttar Pradesh also in Lucknow on this is truly incomprehensible? This is exactly what I find most deeply problematic! Why step-motherly treatment extended for other regions particularly West UP which contributes maximum to State’s economy?

It will be fairly right to say that Centre has taken this most pressing Bench issue in West UP for granted for far too long! One may very well ask: Why has Centre been holding to ransom and gambling with the most basic fundamental rights of litigants of West UP to get affordable and speedy justice and justice at doorsteps for nearly 80 long years on one flimsy ground or the other that cannot be ever justified by even CJI or any Justice of Supreme Court or High Court what to talk about others and playing merciless havoc with the litigants of 30 districts of West UP with more than 10 crore population so brazenly, brutally, blindly, boldly, biasedly and baselessly is for Centre to specify instead of behaving most arrogantly by refusing to see the clear writing on the wall which most adversely affects the poorest litigants and not Union Minister like Shivraj Singh who inspite of even travelling in aeroplane in air conditioners and not in second class seat get most agitated and complain of poor facility as we saw recently? Whose vested interests Centre is serving by denying West UP even a single High Court Bench?

It is really most reassuring to note that leaders of Opposition parties like Samajwadi Party and so also even of ruling BJP like BJP MLA Manju Siwach from Modinagar in West UP too recently demanded High Court Bench in West UP! RLD MLA Prasanna Kumar from Shamli pointed out in Vidhan Sabha recently that from Shamli the distance till Delhi is just 100 km and even Chandigarh is near but Allahabad High Court is 700 km and demanded High Court Bench in West UP! Umar Ali Khan who is MLA of Samajwadi Party from Behat in Saharanpur in West UP too demanded High Court Bench recently in Vidhan Sabha and pointed out that it is very difficult for people to travel all the way till Allahabad which is about 800 km away from Saharanpur to secure justice especially poor litigants! Former Union Minister and so also former Mumbai Police Commissioner Mr Satyapal Singh who is former BJP MP from Baghpat in 2016 demanded in Parliament 5 High Court Benches in Meerut, Agra, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Jhansi in 2016 but Centre till date is not ready to create even one!

Even former PM late Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee had raised this in Parliament in 1986 as Leader of Opposition and so also Mr Rajnath who is now Union Defence Minister and there are many such eminent galaxy of tall leaders like Mr Laxmikant Vajpayee of BJP who has been former party President of BJP in UP still we did not witness movement of even an inch forward on this key open and shut case! The creation of a Bench in West UP is the best antidote to all the huge problems faced by the litigants yet Centre is doing absolutely just nothing to ensure that a High Court Bench is created at the earliest on one pretext or the other which definitely cannot be ever justified under any circumstances! Why has plain logic taken a backseat in West UP being most mercilessly deprived from having even a single Bench is the best and clear indicator that there is certainly more to it than meets the eye?

What leaves me completely speechless and totally flabbergasted is to see how conveniently, cunningly, consciously and contemptuously Centre still dares to invent some lame excuse or the other to justify denial of a High Court Bench in West UP like sanction of Governor needed as we saw recently when Union Law Minister said that we have no problem with Bench in West UP which definitely cannot be justified by any person in his right senses under any circumstances as Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Centre itself nearly 50 years ago headed by former Supreme Court Judge recommended permanent seat in West UP at Agra yet not created till date! What complicates this long pending Bench issue in West UP is complete brazen, brutal, blind and baseless disregard of what Justice Jaswant Singh Commission so very commendably recommended of creating permanent High Court Bench in West UP only to be thrown in dustbin while creating High Court Bench in States like Maharashtra which already had multiple High Court Benches at Aurangabad as recommended in 1980s! Why Centre has degenerated to the extent that it keeps inventing one ludicrous ground or the other to most shamelessly justify without any rhyme or reason the creation of even a single High Court Bench for more than 10 crore people of 30 districts of West UP even though it is West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP as acknowledged by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission due to which it recommended creation of permanent Bench in West UP at Agra yet most astoundingly not created even after nearly 50 years most atrociously!

To be sure, the denial of even a single Bench to West UP stands as a testament to how shamelessly, sinisterly and surreptitiously Centre has discriminated against West UP even though it is West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP and contributes to more than 80% to State’s economy which definitely portrays Centre in poor spotlight for not doing anything worthwhile to address this long simmering issue for nearly 80 years! How can anyone on this earth ever deny that none other than late Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee whose 100th birth anniversary was celebrated on December 25, 2024 all across the nation had in 1986 most forcefully demanded the setting up of a High Court Bench in West UP right inside Parliament as Leader of Opposition? In fact, Dr BR Ambedkar had most strongly batted for separate Statehood for West UP just like for Eastern UP and Central UP which is on record yet no action not even a single Bench created!

Even former PM Late Mr Rajiv Gandhi had wanted to set up a High Court Bench in West UP but as a rift had developed between Meerut and Agra as place where it should be set up, this most pressing issue was not addressed and was receded to the backburner most unfortunately! When two High Court Benches can be created for just 4 and 8 districts of Karnataka in 2008 at Dharwad and Gulbarga then why for 30 districts of West UP three or two or even one High Court Bench cannot be set up inspite of clear recommendations by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission who recommended maximum 3 High Court Benches for undivided UP yet not one created till date which culminated in people of hilly areas agitating for separate Statehood and now Uttarakhand has High Court itself at Nainital? Why has plain logic taken a backseat in West UP being most mercilessly deprived from having even a single Bench is the best and clear indicator that there is certainly more to it than meets the eye?

This is just not done and is outright most blatant partiality and cheating which even Supreme Court most lamentably has failed to take suo motu cognizance of while it spares no time in taking suo motu cognizance of cheating in a Mayor election as we saw in Chandigarh! This directly concerns judiciary itself yet we see no action taken on it! Eminent jurist and Supreme Court lawyer – Late Mr Fali Sam Nariman once very rightly said that:
What’s the use of our Constitution without liberal Judges? Why is Centre so unaccountably stubborn on such a key issue of setting up a High Court Bench in West UP and why it keeps blaming Governor for not giving sanction who cannot be above Constitution nor can Chief Minister be nor can Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court be?

An even more bigger question is: For how long will Centre remain so hell bent in denying West UP even a single Bench which owes for maximum pending cases in any region of India? What knocks me off completely is to see how irrationally and most discriminatingly West UP has been deprived from having even a single High Court Bench in last nearly 80 years of independence! When High Court can be given for Uttarakhand for whom Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended just two Circuit Benches then why West UP for whom permanent seat of High Court Bench recommended yet not even a single Circuit Bench created? Where is Supreme Court sleeping and when it can single out discrimination in an election of Mayor then why on an issue directly concerning judiciary, it has never bothered to take any initiative in holding Centre and State of UP to account?

What message went out by complete astounding inaction of the Supreme Court on this count? It was that Supreme Court just like Centre favours this most sinister, senseless and shameless discrimination perpetrated against different States and different regions and has left everything on this directly concerning judiciary to Centre that it should have last word on it as held in November 2018 by the Bench led by the then CJI Mr Ranjan Gogoi while listening to a PIL filed by women lawyer KR Chitra and appreciating the dire need for a Bench but yet dismissing it leaving the ball in Centre’s court who since last nearly 80 years has been sleeping most comfortably on such a sensitive issue due to which lawyers of West UP have been agitating and going on strike every Saturday since last nearly 50 years yet to no avail and so also strike some times for even 6 months as in 2001 and in 2014-15 in my time in Meerut, what to talk about the past when lawyers even went on hunger strike in 1976 for more than a month! It is the livelihood of practising lawyers that gets affected most when they go on strike and it is the practising lawyers of West UP who are the driving force behind such sacred agitation for the benefit of the litigants and it is for litigants that they want a High Court Bench in West UP which Centre is overzealous to deny on one flimsy or fake or false ground or other which is definitely most condemnable!

It is definitely a no-brainer that the situation demands immediate resolution, and the Centre must take immediate steps to mitigate the agony of West UP’s litigants. Surely, if crores of rupees can be spent on reducing the travel time between Delhi and Meerut, it is not unreasonable to expect the installation of a High Court bench in one of West UP’s 30 districts in which there will be much lesser expenses. When super-expressways can be created to connect Allahabad and Meerut in which billions and trillions of rupees can be spent then why can’t Centre step forward and ensure that a High Court Bench is heralded at the earliest as we see in so many small States with much lesser population than West UP like MP, Assam and Karnataka and still have multiple High Court Benches apart from High Court but for West UP not ready to concede even a single Bench? It is only and only due to lack of political resolve of Centre not to do anything worthwhile in this regard!

We saw how recently during ‘Question Hour’, the JD(U)’s Banka MP – Girdhari Yadav raised the most critical issue of setting up of High Court Benches in Bihar which it is sorely lacking. It was pointed out so very commendably by Girdhari Yadav in Parliament that:
Setting up of High Court Benches is under the Central list. In Bihar, which has a population of 13 crore, there is just one High Court and no Bench. In States with much lower populations, there is a High Court and two Benches. Does the Centre have any intention to set up a Bench in Bhagalpur or elsewhere in Bihar? Even Mr Arun Govil who is BJP MP from Meerut has most forcefully demanded setting up of a High Court Bench in West UP and he also pointed out that strike by lawyers of 22 districts of West UP under one banner demanding High Court Bench for more than 44 years since 1981 is a world record! Centre must swing into action instead of dishing out lame excuses one after the other in Bihar and so also in UP especially West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP and most glaringly has still not even a single High Court Bench!

By all accounts, the only durable solution is creation of High Court Bench in West UP! Denial of even a single Bench in West UP is wholly unjustified! Let us not forget that none other than UP CM Shri Yogi Adityanath himself had even sent a written recommendation to the Allahabad High Court in January 2024 but most perplexingly withdrew it the very next day without disclosing that under what circumstances it was withdrawn! What I find most questionable is that Centre has ensured multiple High Court Benches for only few elite States like Karnataka, Assam, Madhya Pradesh whose population at 6 crores, 4 crores and 7 crores is much less than that of West UP with more than 10 crores but West UP leave alone High Court has not even a single High Court Bench!

My most simple and straightforward question is: Why the hell on earth is Centre so adamant in ensuring that only few elite States have the birthright and that too unfettered without any logical rhyme or reason and this is happening so brashly in India which is the largest democratic country in the world? Why can’t Centre abolish the unjustified monopoly of few elite States in having multiple High Court Benches while depriving most needy States like Bihar and Orissa from having even one Bench and big States like UP and Rajasthan from having multiple High Court Benches? Why no one talks about VIP culture in distribution of High Court Benches to only few elite States and few regions alone as we see both High Court and Bench in Eastern UP?

Plainly speaking, I just fail to comprehend that why can’t Centre go the extra mile to ensure that a High Court Bench is created in West UP at the earliest? It will be too naïve to argue that there is absolutely just no need for creation of more High Court Benches in UP especially in West UP! Why can’t Centre get to the nub of the problem and remove all roadblocks to ensure that a High Court Bench is created in West UP at the earliest?

By any reckoning, there is no credible reason to deny West UP from having even a single High Court Bench! It is for Centre to come clean on this which cannot be done by just passing the buck most easily to Governor or someone else because Governor is not elected by the people but it is the State Government and Central Government who are elected by the people and BJP is in power both in Centre and State for last so many years and many top BJP leaders have always justified the creation of a High Court Bench in West UP which is all on record! Why can’t Centre take an uncluttered stand on such a serious key issue that has been pending inordinately for an excruciatingly long period of time without any prima facie valid reason?

How long will the people of West UP be lulled by both State Government and Centre into a false sense of security and yet tighten the noose to ensure as we have been watching in last nearly 80 years that not even a single High Court Bench is created not just in West UP but in any nook and corner of most populated State of India with maximum pending cases other than at Lucknow so near to Allahabad where it was just not needed at all and then attached litigants of West UP with not even Lucknow but with Allahabad? No wonder, even Supreme Court recently expressed grave concern over the huge backlog of pending cases in Allahabad High Court and majority of pending cases are from West UP! Why the people of West UP are still being infantilized and treated as not fit to be given even a single High Court Bench?

In no way can Centre wash away the unpalatable truth which is so demoralizing, disgusting, degrading and disastrous that Uttar Pradesh which has maximum population among all the States more than 25 crores which is more than the population of 16 small States put together and so also maximum pending cases more than 11 lakhs in High Courts and as of January 1, 2025, the alarming pending is of 11,41,687 cases before the Allahabad High Court and still most astoundingly has only one Bench and that too so close to Allahabad at Lucknow in Eastern UP and what is worse is that West UP which owes for majority of total pending cases of UP has not even a single High Court Bench! What is even more worst is that the litigants of West UP have been attached not even with Lucknow which falls more than 230 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad to seek justice which means whole night and nearly a day wasted on just travelling alone by train who cannot afford plane travel which is not only absolutely preposterous but also biggest betrayal of what Constitution stands for, merciless slaughtering of justice and makes the worst mockery of poorest litigants of West UP and ensures that they suffer the most in all respects! Most disgusting indeed!

By the way, more than one crore cases are pending in lower courts in UP and here too more than half of the pending cases are from West UP and still has just one Bench only and both High Court and a single Bench are in Eastern UP alone and that too just at a distance of about 230 km only even though in 1981 it was agreed that the distance between High Court and Bench should not be less than 300 km yet we see that no change in UP despite India nearing 100 years of independence! It is high time and Centre must move beyond the myopic view that only Eastern UP alone is fit for both High Court and Bench and not any other region which according to Centre are legally worthless just not fit to be given a Bench which really baffles and boils my temper most! Why is Centre most disinterested on such a sensitive issue which directly impacts population of more than 10 crore people of West UP?

It must be asked: Why so much of opacity in creation of High Court Benches? Why no transparency? That is the nub of the problem! Why big states like UP and Rajasthan have only one High Court Bench and lawless Bihar just like West UP none? Most disconcertingly, we see that Centre till date has taken no tangible and credible steps to resolve this long pending issue of most pressing demand for a High Court Bench in West UP which has only served to deprive the litigants of West UP from achieving easy and affordable justice at doorsteps and even 230th Report of Law Commission of India most strongly recommended creation of more High Court Benches in different States yet not implemented even after more than 15 years! It is best to junk the junk Law Commission Report made in mid fifties that opposed setting up of more High Court Benches and adopt this 230th Report submitted in 2009! Why is Centre clinging to the junk Law Commission of India report just like a drunkard clings himself to a lamppost not to light himself on the way but to hide his own darkness from the rest of the world? It is for Centre to explain and not wash off its hands inspite of getting elected by people!

It merits just no reiteration that Centre must take a clear stand on it and not indulge in frequent flip-flop over it as we have been seeing since last more than 77 years most unfortunately! Viewed in this light, it can be easily surmised that Centre has been most deadly biased in favouring only one particular region in regard to setting up of a Bench which is most unfortunate and must be strongly and roundly condemned! I have just no inkling as to why Centre has been so deadly biased on this without any logic in this blatant, brazen, brutal, baseless and blind discrimination against West UP and other regions.

Most significantly, one must ask: Why has the Supreme Court never questioned the Centre on why Uttar Pradesh, despite having the highest number of pending cases, the largest population, and numerous other challenges, has only one High Court Bench? Furthermore, why does Western Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for more than half of the state's pending cases, have none?

It is truly heart-wrenching to see that the Supreme Court finds it more important to take *suo motu* cognizance of electoral irregularities in the Chandigarh mayoral elections than to address the gross injustice within the judiciary itself—specifically, the inequitable distribution of High Court Benches across different regions and states. This discrimination has persisted for nearly 80 years since independence, despite the 230th Report of the Law Commission of India, chaired by the late Dr. A.R. Lakshmanan (a former Supreme Court Judge), strongly recommending the creation of additional High Court Benches across various states nearly 15 years ago.

Yet, only a few elite states—such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, and Assam—enjoy the exclusive privilege of having multiple High Court Benches. Neither the Supreme Court nor the Centre appears to feel even remotely ashamed that Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state with the highest number of pending cases, has just one Bench, located close to the Allahabad High Court. Similarly, Rajasthan, the largest state in terms of area, has only one Bench, and Bihar—one of the most lawless states—has none, just like Western Uttar Pradesh. This is truly disheartening to witness! Even the country’s top Supreme Court lawyers rarely speak on such a crucial issue. Why has merit been allowed to become the greatest casualty in the allocation of High Court Benches across different states?

What Nehru envisioned decades ago continues to dictate the system like an unchallenged dictatorial decision, even as we approach 100 years of independence. Why is it that no other city besides Lucknow—situated so close to Allahabad—is deemed capable of having even a single Bench or a Circuit Bench, when even the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, with a population of just a few lakhs, has one? To make matters worse, litigants from Western Uttar Pradesh are attached to the Allahabad High Court, not even to Lucknow, which is much closer.

This unjust approach has already led to the partition of Uttar Pradesh in 2000, yet the Centre stubbornly refuses to open its eyes and acknowledge the reality staring it in the face!

Why when lawyers of West UP of so many districts about 26 under one banner demanded High Court Bench in West UP and went on strike for 6 months in 2001 when I first landed in Meerut and so also in 2014-15 apart from nearly 50 years old strike every Saturday due to non-implementation of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission’s recommendation to create permanent High Court Bench in West UP and so many other strikes also like one month hunger strike by lawyers in 1978 did Supreme Court ever bother to take suo motu cognizance which I consider as the biggest Himalayan blunder ever committed on earth?

This is exactly the reason that why it is so famously said that:
Supreme Court is definitely final but not infallible. It is definitely the biggest Himalayan blunder which has not been corrected neither by Centre nor by Supreme Court which is the last bastion as ray of hope for poorest litigants! Centre definitely can’t pretend to feign ignorance any longer or forward one flimsy or false excuse or other to deny and deprive West UP from having even a Single Bench which is completely bereft of any logic!

It must definitely act now and stop forthwith this most atrocious step-motherly treatment to West UP which definitely makes me hang my head in shame! What I find most deeply troubling is that Centre is just not ready to step out of its comfort zone to do anything worthwhile in this regard! My contention most validly is that there should be just no quibbling as to the irrefutable fact that West UP needs a High Court Bench and it must be now set up at any suitable place at the earliest!

Most lamentably, we see that the denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP has huge repercussions on litigants of West UP which Centre has simply just failed to address which depicts a dismal picture of the manner in which Centre has contemptuously rode roughshod over the most legitimate demand for a High Court Bench in West UP which definitely cannot be justified under any circumstances! What cannot turn away the singular and unremitting attention of people is to see how haphazardly High Court Benches have been allotted to different States and so also in different regions! What the hell is Centre upto by denying West UP even a single High Court Bench?

The billion dollar question is: Why has Centre been robbing and trampling upon the basic fundamental right of litigants of West UP to get justice at doorsteps? I am not at all inclined to buy lame excuses forwarded by Centre to deprive West UP from having even a single High Court Bench! The most fundamental question that arises here is: Will it wake up when people start agitating for separate Statehood like Uttarakhand which had just 88 lakh people when it was created in 2000 as opposed to more than 10 crore people of West UP? Whom is Centre appeasing so terribly? Who is responsible for sabotaging the most legitimate demand for a High Court Bench in West UP just like for lawless Bihar? Responsibility has to be fixed and Supreme Court must immediately take suo motu cognizance of such a serious matter that directly pertains to judiciary just like huge judicial vacancies of which it took cognizance just recently most commendably! It cannot be a free lunch in perpetuity! No denying it!

Why is it ignored that even legal giants like Ram Jethmalani, Soli J Sorabjee, Kapil Sibal etc have time and again reiterated the dire need for setting up a high court bench in West UP? Why is it ignored that Soli J Sorabjee as Attorney General had said in 2001 most forthrightly that:
Centre can create a High Court Bench in West UP without any recommendation from the State Government or Governor or the Chief Justice. 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.

Why is it conveniently ignored that incumbent President of Supreme Court Bar Association Kapil Sibal had recommended for High Court Bench in West UP at Meerut when he was Union Law Minister in UPA regime? Why is it ignored that former UP CM Sampoornanand recommended a High Court Bench for West UP in 1955 at Meerut but Centre overruled him? Why even former UP CM Mayawati had recommended creation of West UP as a separate State and yet not even a single High Court Bench created till date? I am hard pressed to wonder and just can’t visualize that why Centre is behaving so helplessly in setting up a High Court Bench in West UP and coughing up most strange excuses for not ?

Even the incumbent CM Shri Yogi Adityanath in January 2024 had forwarded the proposal for a Bench in West UP to Allahabad High Court but most intriguingly withdrew it the very next day! He also 26 years ago had demanded Bench in Gorakhpur right inside Parliament and in 2015 even presented a Private Member Bill for it in Parliament! Still in last about 80 years not a single Bench created other than the one at Lucknow since July 1948! How can any civilized country on earth ever dare to take such a nonsensical preposterous decision like this? How can the people of West UP ever reconcile with such authoritarian, arrogant, arbitrary and atrocious discrimination perpetrated by Centre for so long?

It is truly shocking that Uttar Pradesh (UP), one of the largest states in India, has the highest population—more than 26 crores, as both Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Prime Minister Narendra Modi proudly claim. It also has the highest number of districts (75), parliamentary constituencies (80), Members of Parliament (80), and Members of the Legislative Assembly (404). Furthermore, it has produced the maximum number of Prime Ministers, including Narendra Modi, who represents Varanasi as an MP.

UP also holds the dubious distinction of having the highest number of pending cases—over 11 lakh in the Allahabad High Court. The Justice Jaswant Singh Commission had noted that West UP alone accounted for approximately 57% of these pending cases, and over the decades, this percentage has risen significantly. In lower courts, pending cases are nearing 1 crore, making it the state with the highest number of cases at all judicial levels.

Additionally, UP has the highest number of judges in both the High Court (160) and lower courts, yet it also has the highest number of judicial vacancies. The UP Bar Council, with over 1 lakh members, is the largest Bar Council in the world, as stated on its official website. However, despite this legal prominence, its former Chairman, Darvesh Yadav—the first woman to hold the position—was brutally murdered in broad daylight inside the Agra court premises on June 12, 2019, with bullets pumped into her head and stomach.

The state also records the highest levels of poverty, the most villages (over 1,07,040), and the most gram panchayats (74,626). It leads in fake encounter killings, custodial deaths, dowry-related cases, bride burnings, human rights violations, robberies, dacoities, and various other crimes. West UP, in particular, has witnessed some of the worst communal riots, including those in Saharanpur, Meerut, and Muzaffarnagar, which have severely tarnished India’s international reputation. Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon once referred to UP as the "crime and rape capital of India." Recently, Bahraich has also made headlines for communal disturbances.

Moreover, UP has the highest number of undertrial prisoners across all age groups. Despite all these alarming statistics, the central government, even as of March 2025, has failed to establish a High Court bench in West UP, or anywhere else in the state, beyond the one in Lucknow, which was created in July 1948. The decision to place a bench in Lucknow—so close to Allahabad, where it was not needed—while denying one to West UP, which has over 10 crore people (more than the population of many Indian states), is a blatant injustice.

Despite nearly 80 years of independence, West UP remains without a High Court bench—a situation that is not only deplorable but also dangerous, self-destructive, and deeply discriminatory. Even the Supreme Court has never intervened in this gross disparity in the distribution of High Court benches across different states and regions. Why has the Supreme Court tolerated such blatant discrimination? Why has this judicial injustice persisted for so long?

The area of West UP is 98,933 square km and accounts for 33.61 percent of total area of UP and has 26 districts yet no bench but Lucknow with just 62,363 square km and 12 districts has a Bench! Allahabad High Court is biggest High Court in whole of Asia as was claimed by Yogi Adityanath and many say in whole world and also is one of oldest High Court and UP Bar Council has maximum members yet has least Bench just one and so very near to Allahabad which is nothing but most senseless, shameless and stupid decision perpetuated since independence and not rectified till now! There is a political predicament that is complicating this Bench issue to be addressed effectively! What needs to be watched out is how Centre now adopts a new approach or keeps treading on the lame path of forwarding one pretext or the other to justify denial of even a single Bench to West UP! How long will the litigants of West UP be made scapegoat?

It must be asked: Why is it that the litigants of West UP of more than 30 districts foolishly were compelled and are still compelled most senselessly to travel all the way to Allahabad which is far away even from Lucknow where High Court Bench is located and averages 600 to 800 km on an average but the litigants of Lucknow cannot travel even 200 km away to Allahabad? Most shamefully, why no one ever really cares for poorest of poor, women and infirm and physically handicapped people who can’t travel so far easily and Centre is most happy by inaugurating an international airport at Kushinagar and now again at Jewar in West UP and in Ayodhya in December 2023 and most recently in Saharanpur in West UP which is a very good thing and has maximum airports in India and so also maximum highways and super expressways but why we then see so miserliness on High Court Bench for West UP which will benefit all whether poor or rich or Hindu or Muslim or of any other religion? Centre must act now and not just keep on advancing one lame excuse or the other as a pretext for not creating a High Bench anywhere in UP other than at Lucknow where it was just not needed at all as it is so close to Allahabad and worst still the 30 districts of West UP were not attached even with Lucknow which falls 230 km earlier but right uptill Allahabad which means more than 700 km on average all the way to Allahabad to seek justice which in itself is the biggest injustice!

It must definitely be asked: When Centre in 2008 can create two High Court Benches for Karnataka which has just 6 crore population for just 4 and 8 districts only at Dharwad and Gulbarga respectively then why for 30 districts with 10 crore population West UP cannot have five or six High Court Benches as maximum number of pending cases are from West UP? Why litigants of West UP have to travel whole night and half day all the way to Allahabad? Area of West UP is 98,933 square km and accounts for 33.61 percent of total area of UP and has 26 districts yet no bench but Lucknow with just 62,363 square km and 12 districts has a Bench since 1948!

We all know that for just 3 crore people of Telangana Centre approved separate High Court and separate Capital and Statehood on June 2, 2014 just like for Andhra Pradesh with population of just 4 crores by partitioning Andhra Pradesh just like Chhattisgarh was created by partitioning Madhya Pradesh in November 2000 even though population of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh combined is less than West UP alone! Now we hear that Andhra Pradesh State Assembly has approved a High Court Bench in Kurnool also! But most shockingly for West UP with more than 10 crores people we see that not even a High Court Bench is approved by Centre which leaves me completely speechless! Why the hell on earth Supreme Court has been so tolerant to this open most worst discrimination on the distribution of High Court Benches in different States? Why lawless Bihar has not even a single High Court Bench and so also West UP which owes for majority of cases of UP?

You don’t need a telescope to see that which State should have maximum High Court Benches as it is the most populated State! How long will Supreme Court be in hibernation mode? It has to be acknowledged with grace that denial of even a single High Court Bench to West UP is not only dangerous and deleterious but also most disastrous and most discriminatory!

How long will creation of even a single High Court Bench be just on the anvil? When will it finally be materialized? The dearth of even a single High Court Bench in West UP clearly exposes the ground reality and how there has been outright partiality in denying West UP even a single High Court Bench! Why the most powerful vested lobby against the creation of even a single Bench in West UP or other part of UP except Eastern UP where already High Court existed since centuries has been allowed to devour all other regions most arbitrarily, most atrociously and most arrogantly making a complete brazen mockery of what Constitution stands for?

Before concluding, it must be asked: Why only one region of UP that is Eastern UP enjoys the unfettered monopoly of having both High Court at Allahabad and Bench at Lucknow so nearby for so long even though it is West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP still no Bench! Why even though West UP contributes more than 80% to State’s economy yet accorded such a step-motherly treatment for nearly 80 long years? Is this the way to make India a developed country by 2047 as PM Mr Narendra Modi wants that you deprive most deserving big States like UP, Bihar and Rajasthan from having multiple High Court Benches? Yet why even media which is considered the fourth pillar of democracy very rarely bothers to ever highlight it most forcefully especially in news channels and top newspapers and top magazines? I just can’t second guess!

It is a no-brainer that Eastern UP alone cannot be deemed to have an indefeasible right to have both High Court and High Court Bench and in other regions like Western UP or Bundelkhand or Purvanchal not allowing even a single Bench is most horrendous because this flawed approach is against the very core basis on which our Constitution rests upon. It cannot be dismissed lightly that none other than Dr BR Ambedkar who is considered as the key architect of the Constitution himself proposed the division of Uttar Pradesh into three States that is Western, Eastern and Central and still Centre most shamelessly is not ready to concede even a single High Court Bench to West UP leave alone creating five to six High Court Benches as ideally should be the case! This alone explains why Ex-CJI Mr Jagdish Singh Khehar who recently got Padma Vibhushan had once very rightly said that:
One set of citizens cannot prosper at the cost of another set of citizens, for that would not be fair or unreasonable. Absolutely right!

The narrative that is gaining ground because of media not highlighting this Bench issue proactively is that people consider it a trivial issue which is definitely not the case! Even Centre’s role in addressing it leaves a lot to be desired! Why can’t even Centre get to the bottom of the problem which has been festering for such a long time inordinately? How long will even Centre do just nothing to check, combat and crush all those stumbling blocks that have contributed in one way or the other to stymie the chances of West UP being given a Bench as was demanded even by former PM late Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1986 right inside Parliament as Leader of Opposition?

It is certainly high time now and judiciary must definitely listen to Mr Kapil Sibal who has more than 52 years of experience as an advocate right in the Supreme Court itself who as Union Law Minister had recommended a High Court Bench in West UP just like many other former Union Law Ministers and must be more proactive in protecting the rights of the citizenry! Whether it is the right of the people of West UP to get justice at doorsteps by being given a High Court Bench as recommended even by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission or the right of a citizen not to be arrested without proper investigation being conducted, it is the judiciary that has to step in and be more proactive in taking the bull by the horns. The fundamental point that I wish to make here forcefully is: For how long will Apex Court and Centre just gloss over the compelling and legitimate demand for a High Court Bench in West UP?

Let us still hope with a bright sense of optimism about the future by quoting the famous Lebanese poet – Kahlil Gibran: Yesterday we obeyed kings and bent our necks before emperors. But today we kneel only to truth, follow only beauty and obey only love! Let’s fervently hope that one day or the other, we will see either Supreme Court or Centre doing something on this most decisively just like for lawless Bihar where there is not even a single Bench but at least it has High Court but West UP has not even a Bench! The upshot of above detailed discussion is that it has become indubitably clear that Centre has favoured worst discrimination in creation of High Court Benches in different States and different regions which definitely is the biggest, blatant, brutal, baseless and blind discrimination that makes an open mockery of Article 14 of Constitution when States like Madhya Pradesh which has just 7 crore population, Karnataka which has just 6 crore population can have separate High Court and multiple High Court Benches then why West UP with more than 10 crores population has got no Bench leave alone High Court like Tamil Nadu with just 7 crore population and Andhra Pradesh with 4 crore population and Telangana with 3 crore population among other States who have separate High Court and so also many other States who have far less population but still have High Court and West UP has not even a Bench just like Bundelkhand and Purvanchal even though population of West UP is more than 10 crores which means more than the population of majority of the States and maximum pending cases in UP are also from West UP which is also highest in any region of any State of India! If West UP cannot be given High Court Bench then all the Benches must be abolished in India! The 230th Report of Law Commission of India favoured creation of more High Court Benches for not just Karnataka or Maharashtra but also for UP and Rajasthan which have just one Bench and lawless Bihar none but Bihar at least has High Court and West UP inspite of being bigger in area with 98,000 square km area than Bihar with 94,000 square km area has not even a single High Court Bench! No denying or disputing it!

The billion dollar question is: When will Centre bring the curtains down on the most pressing issue of setting up a High Court Bench in West UP which has been hanging fire for a mind boggling time of more than 78 years? Priyanka Gandhi said in Parliament that why Centre keeps blaming Jawaharlal Nehru for all left undone? Even Supreme Court senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi pointed out that why can’t Centre take its own decision as it has been in power for nearly 11 years now? Absolutely right!

Nehruji created 76 years ago a High Court Bench in Lucknow so near to Allahabad where High Court is located in July 1948 without dishing any lame excuse, why then no other PM could dare to create even a single High Court Bench anywhere even in undivided UP till 2000 when Uttarakhand was created as a separate State because of agitation by people? Why when Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge appointed by Centre itself recommended permanent Bench for West UP still even after nearly 50 years not created even though in Maharashtra Centre approved one more Bench which already had multiple High Court Benches? When will Centre go full throttle in ensuring that the creation of a High Court Bench in West UP is done now without any more dilly-dallying on one pretext or the other?

How long will Centre piggyback on lame excuses to deny West UP from having even a single Bench? Why such a pressing issue never dominates the discourse in different news channels is truly incomprehensible and most baffling indeed! Why can’t Centre keep powerful vested elements at bay when it comes to taking a call on the creation of a permanent High Court Bench in West UP? Even Madhya Pradesh with just 7 crore population has two High Court Benches at Gwalior and Indore but West UP with more than ten crores has not even a single Bench!

To say the very least: The utter nonchalant approach of Centre in addressing it has been of biblical proportions for which it definitely cannot be ever given a clean chit! How can Centre keep its eyes shut to clear writing on the wall for such a long time? What I find most heart breaking is the heartless manner in which Centre has rode roughshod over the most legitimate and compelling demand for a High Court Bench in West UP! Why has step motherly treatment been allowed to be perpetrated in distribution of High Court and High Court Benches in different States and different regions? Why more than half of the seats of Judges even in Allahabad High Court which is biggest High Court in world keeps lying vacant as questioned by the Apex Court itself recently?

The prime question here is: Who is responsible for this most messy state of affairs perpetrated most atrociously in allotment of High Court Benches in different regions and different States? It must definitely also be asked: Why Supreme Court has gone into a deep hibernation on such a most pressing issue directly connected with the judiciary itself since last nearly 80 years? The most germane question is: When will it wake up and take suo motu cognizance of it? After 100 years in 2047 or 2048? On November 26, 1949, when the Constitution was being adopted, Dr Rajendra Prasad had very rightly said that:
…a Constitution like a machine is a lifeless thing. It acquires life because of the men who control it and operate it.

Suffice it is to state that so many compelling arguments in favour of High Court Bench in West UP are sufficient enough to unerringly point out that West UP deserved a High Court Bench since 1947 and not from 2047 by which year Hon’ble PM Mr Narendra Damodardas Modi wants India to become a developed country! UP has become second biggest State in India in terms of economy as acknowledged just recently by incumbent Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh? The lawyers of West UP have always reaffirmed their unshakable resolve to do their best and not rest in peace to ensure that a High Court Bench is created in West UP at the earliest! I still fervently hope that better sense prevails on Centre and this Bench issue in West UP is resolved at the earliest! More specifically and more directly, why can’t Centre take a more bolder approach rather than sticking to the boring, tired worn-out traditional atrocious path of trotting out one lame excuse or the other to deny West UP even a single Bench?

In sum, the cat is out of the bag and yet how long will Centre remain senselessly and most atrociously wedded to the past most historical Himalayan blunder simply and incredibly difficult to even believe committed about 80 years ago by creating only one Bench for the most populated State with maximum pending cases so close to Allahabad High Court at Lucknow only and we hardly see any glaring change as Centre has refused to create even a single Bench in any other district of UP except that when people of hilly areas of undivided UP agitated violently then separate High Court and separate Statehood given to Uttarakhand by partitioning Uttar Pradesh in 2000? Does it make any sense that the most populated State of India with maximum pending cases has just one Bench at Lucknow so close to Allahabad and litigants of West UP attached with not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad which is most far away and not given separate Bench even though it owes for majority of pending cases of UP? Why Centre has so ruthlessly eviscerated the very concept of equality as enshrined in Article 14 of the Constitution by not allowing even a single Bench in any of the districts of West UP?

There can be definitely just no gainsaying that Centre, Parliament, Supreme Court, Allahabad High Court and so also our national media and our national newspapers and even our national news channels also must definitely seriously give it a food of thought and after seriously deliberating arrive independently at their own logical conclusions! No denying or disputing it!

To be very honest, Centre cannot be definitely ever under any circumstances be given a clean chit for not doing the requisite spadework in this regard to ensure that a High Court Bench is now created in West UP at the earliest! My whole take on this is: Centre is just not doing enough to address this key issue and is most happy by trotting out one lame excuse or the other to justify denial of creation of even a single Bench and Supreme Court is not helping resolve matters by not taking suo motu cognizance of it and leaving everything on Centre alone on a key issue that directly pertains to judiciary! Nothing on earth can ever for me be more disgusting than this most unpalatable stark truth!

By all accounts, the long and short of what I have touched upon is that it is inevitable that a Bench of High Court has to be set up in West UP! There is no discernible reason that I can fathom as to why West UP should not have a High Court Bench! Why is Centre in a predicament in such an open and shut case?

It is worth asking: Why can’t Centre get its acts together and take most decisive step to address it at the earliest? Why Centre feels it is utterly pointless and insignificant to create even a single High Court Bench in lawless Bihar where there is none? How long will Centre rebuff, rebuke and reject the most legitimate demand for a High Court Bench in West UP on one pretext or the other?

Frankly speaking, it is only now gradually dawning on leaders that the creation of a High Court Bench in West UP cannot be postponed any longer and is an inevitable necessity! The challenges in creation of High Court Benches in States like UP, Bihar, Rajasthan and Orissa may certainly seem formidable but are definitely surmountable! Those elected representatives who time and again both in Vidhan Sabha and in Parliament have been blurting out the unpalatable truth by demanding High Court Bench in West UP with some demanding multiple High Court Benches like Dr Satyapal Singh definitely deserves to be specially complimented for taking extra pains to highlight this most pressing issue that news channels have been unforgivably ignoring which I find most baffling indeed!

All said and done, it must also be certainly asked: How long will the High Court Bench demand in West UP be demonized, derided and dismissed most contemptuously by Centre time and again without any valid reason whatsoever? There can be just no gainsaying that the denial of even a single High Court Bench most ruthlessly to West UP is plainly unconstitutional! One has to definitely concede most graciously and genuinely the most bitter truth that denying West UP even a single High Court Bench even after nearly 80 long years of independence is most disastrous, most perplexing and most disgraceful indeed that tears to pieces what the very concept of equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution envisages! No denying or disputing it! The earlier a High Court Bench is created in West UP, the better it shall be! It definitely brooks no more delay any longer now!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col (Retd) BPS Sirohi, A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera, Meerut - 250001, Uttar Pradesh