Why UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population more than 24 crore which is more than even Pakistan, has maximum districts - 75, has maximum constituencies - 80, has maximum poverty, has maximum pending cases, has maximum MPs and MLAs in Parliament and State Assemblies, has maximum undertrials, has given maximum PM to India including Narendra Modi, has maximum cases of riots, loot and arson and what not but still has least number of benches? Why here also it is West UP which accounts for more than half of the pending cases of UP and yet not a single bench has been created here due to which people of more than 20 districts are compelled to travel more than 800 km on an average all the way to Allahabad?

Why UP has only one high court bench at Lucknow and that too just 150-200 km from Allahabad and that too way back in 1948 on July 1 but nothing for West UP even in 2021? Why Centre takes no time in acting on Justice Jaswant Committee report recommendation to create a high court bench at Aurangabad in Maharashtra in 1985 but does not approve even a single bench for UP even though Justice Jaswant Singh recommended three benches for UP at Agra, Nainital and Dehradun till 2021?

Why Centre takes no time in creating high court itself at Sikkim where the number of pending cases are just 69 - 54 civil and 15 criminal but fails to approve even a single bench for West UP? Why Centre takes no time in creating two high court benches for Karnataka at Gulbarga and Dharwad even though the number of pending cases are just 1,55,690 and it already had a bench at Hubli whereas in UP the number of pending cases are more than 10 lakh at least yet it has least benches in India?

Why Government takes no time in creating high courts for very small States like Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura where are the number of pending cases are just in few hundred or thousand but for UP not a single more bench has been added since independence? Why West UP which accounts for more than 57 % of the total pending cases of UP as admitted by Justice Jaswant Commission itself has not even a single bench of high court? Why Centre cares least for the people of West UP in 26 districts who have to travel 700 -750 km on an average to attend the court hearings at Allahabad and time and again bear innumerable inconveniences?

Why Centre takes the stand that India cannot afford a single more bench at any corner of UP for 80 districts but can afford two benches more for Karnataka for just 4 and 8 districts at Dharwad and Gulbarga respectively? Why the high court and benches of 8 states are nearer to West UP as compared to Allahabad yet Centre decides that the people of West UP must suffer and travel all the way to Allahabad?

Why when Dr Sampoornanand in 1955 for the first time recommended a high court bench for West UP at Meerut did Centre not act? Why when so many other UP CM like Banarsi Das, ND Tiwari, Rajnath Singh etc strongly recommend the creation of a bench in West UP still no bench has been created here? Why Centre even disregarded Justice Jaswant Singh Commission's recommendations of setting up three high court benches here? Why lawless state like UP has least High Court Benches in India and another lawless state like Bihar has none?

Why the lawyers of West UP have been going on strike every Saturday since 1981which means more than 40 years in 2021 to draw Centre's attention of how more than 9 crore people of West UP are suffering interminably and are compelled to travel whole night to Allahabad to attend court hearings but Centre refuses to budge?

Why lawyers of West UP even went on strike for several months continuously several times but Centre refused? Why Centre took no time in setting up high court benches in other States like Aurangabad in Maharashtra, Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and at Tamil Nadu in Madurai in Tamil Nadu as recommended by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission but not for UP? Why statehood is given promptly to states which are much smaller than West UP, hardly have 1 or 2 crore population unlike West UP which has more than 9 crore population?

Why Centre ignores that lawyers of West UP have gone on strike in 2014-2015 for 80 days and in the past for 6 months at a row for a bench and so this sensitive issue cannot any longer be brushed aside a carpet? Why Centre ignores that lawyers of West UP have started going on strike for 2 days in a week – Wednesday and Saturday in support of the age old demand for a bench?

Why Centre refuses to implement the report made by Law Commission in its 230th report (2009) of creating more high court benches except two benches at Karnataka and vows to implement the fourth report made more than 50 years ago in 1956 by First Law Commission of not creating more benches especially in big states like UP, Bihar, Rajasthan, Orissa etc? Why all major political parties have on one occasion or other supported a bench in West UP but still there is none? Why West UP has an area of 98,933 square km which accounts for 33.61 percent of total area of UP and yet no bench but Lucknow in Central region has just 62,363 square km and yet it has a bench?

Why Centre keeps on blaming State for not recommending even when it was in 1955 that a bench for West UP was first recommended and as Soli J Sorabjee, the former Attorney General rightly said that:
The Centre without any recommendation from the State Chief Minister or Chief Justice of a State is fully empowered under our Constitution to set up a high court bench anywhere it wants at its own volition. Why Centre ignores blithely what the Chairman of Supreme Court Bar Association Krishna Mani had said quite explicitly that:
Only by the creation of a bench of high court in West UP will the people be able to secure speedy and cheap justice at their doorsteps!

Why when even UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon termed UP as Crime and Rape Capital of India yet Centre is not prepared to create more benches here? Why Centre knowing that West UP has maximum crime, maximum riots as happened recently in Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar etc which brought us international shame yet it approves no bench for it? Disgusting!

Sanjeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi, A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kankerkhera, Meerut-250001, UP.