I really wonder many times and it is certainly beyond my comprehension that why when there is so much of brouhaha over “uniform civil code” with newspapers since last so many decades but no one has any time to ever debate over “uniform bench code”. Not even once in my life have I ever heard anyone debating over it. Till now it is a matter of deep regret that we see no fixed criteria being followed for creation of High Court Benches and everything hinges on the whims and fancies of the party in power in Centre. This must definitely change now and what was recommended so brilliantly by the 230th report of the Law Commission of India must be uniformly implemented all over India. Let me discuss some key points: -

1. “Increase in number of judges and creation of new Benches

1.7 In almost every High Court, there is huge pendency of cases and the present strength of the judges can hardly be said to be sufficient to cope with the alarming situation. The institution of cases is much more than the disposal and it adds to arrears of cases. The litigating citizens have a fundamental right of life i.e. a tension-free life through speedy justice-delivery system. Now it has become essential that the present strength of the judges should be increased manifold according to the pendency, present and probable.

1.8 It is also necessary that the work of the High Courts is decentralized, that is, more Benches are established in all States. If there is manifold increase in the strength of the judges and the staff, all cannot be housed in one campus. Therefore, the establishment of new Benches is necessary. It is also in the interest of the litigants. The Benches should be so established that a litigant is not required to travel long.

1.9 It is true that the new establishments will require money, but it is necessary as a development measure, particularly, when efforts are being made for all-round development of the country. Therefore, the money should not be a problem. We have to watch and protect the interest of the litigants. We must always keep in mind that the existence of judges and advocates is because of the litigants and they are there to serve their cause only.

1.10 Sometimes, some advocates object to creation of new Benches and selection of new sites for construction of new buildings. But they raise objections in their personal, limited interest. Creation of new Benches is certainly beneficial for the litigants and the lawyers and a beginning has to be made somewhere.”

Why Madhya Pradesh has two High Court Benches at Gwalior and Indore? Why no Bench in Bhopal which is capital of Madhya Pradesh rather it is at Jabalpur? Still why then for such a large State like Uttar Pradesh we see that a single High Court Bench was created for Lucknow which already was a capital city and which is so near to Allahabad where High Court is located?

Why for such a large State like UP we saw that a Bench was created so close to Allahabad just 200 km away at Lucknow and nowhere else in any nook and corner of UP? It would certainly not tantamount to an exaggeration if I say that turning the clock back on Bench to 1948 when the first Bench was created at Lucknow and till now even after 75 years we see no Bench created even as 2023 is about to start is not just stupidity of the highest order but is sinful, unprincipled and clear attempt to strangulate the dire need of people living in regions like West UP, Bundelkhand and Purvanchal to have a Bench so that the people don’t waste a night and a half day in travelling alone! Why no High Court or even High Court Bench for West UP whose population at more than 10 crore is more than that of most of the States and yet has not even a single Bench?

Why we see some Union Cabinet Ministers slamming Bihar as a “lawless State where Jungleraj is the norm” yet has not even a single High Court Bench? Why a State like Maharashtra which tops in the latest Justice Index Ranking Report and where women and girls are safe all alone even in night as was conceded by former Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale who also conceded that in UP women and girls are not safe even with their family and on national highway in broad daylight while referring to an incident of looting, killing and mercilessly beating of women and her daughter in Bulandshahr in West UP some years back and still Maharashtra has maximum High Court Benches in India and Uttar Pradesh has just one and West UP where maximum crime incidents occur has none?

It is no trifling matter that on record it is Uttar Pradesh (UP) which tops in having the maximum number of pending cases and not Maharashtra! Yet you see the crowning unbeatable irony that Maharashtra has maximum High Court Benches which also tops in latest Justice Index Ranking List and UP has minimum Benches only one at Lucknow also in Eastern UP just 200 km away from Allahabad and nowhere else! Why Supreme Court and Centre always feel proud of this and term it as being done in the best interest of justice it was decided that Maharashtra will have maximum High Court Benches, UP minimum and as if this was not enough, to top it all, West UP which owes for more than half of total pending cases of UP and so also lawless Bihar for which even Union Ministers label as “Open Jungle Raj” has none?

The troubling question that most often niggles my mind constantly is: What best purpose is served in the interest of justice in doing so that UP has minimum Benches and West UP none? I find it most incomprehensible and senseless! Both Centre and Supreme Court have really in the true sense failed our Constitution which does not believe in discrimination of any kind by advocating most strongly that only Eastern UP is suited best for capital, High Court and so also a single High Court Bench created way back in 1948 at Lucknow and all other regions are legally worthless which alone explains why not a single High Court Bench was created most ridiculously even though the Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommendation to create 3 Benches for undivided UP was not implemented rather put in cold storage even though implemented for States like Maharashtra which already had multiple Benches which is most discriminatory and it is most hurting to see that CJI Dr DY Chandrachud who himself hails from Maharashtra and who has been Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court for nearly three years never says a word on it!

What rankles, ruffles and rattles me most to see is that even now both Supreme Court and so also Centre feel that India must feel most proud that Maharashtra has maximum Benches in India and UP minimum and West UP and Bihar none! Nothing on earth can be more horrible than this! If you ask me, there is not even the slightest of doubt that because of this most foolish decision to create maximum Benches for Maharashtra and minimum for UP and none for West UP perpetrated most shamelessly by Centre has put the litigants of 30 districts of West UP at most unease position which cannot be ever condoned under any circumstances whatsoever!

How long will Centre keep stonewalling any attempt to create a High Court Bench in not just West UP but in any nook and corner of UP? 75 years have already lapsed! Is Centre now waiting for 100 years?

There can be no gainsaying that Centre has definitely gone on the wrong tangent by vowing to most blindly follow Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru that only and only the Nawab City that is Lucknow is alone fit to have a High Court Bench in the whole of UP and no other city can ever even dream to have a High Court Bench as the “Nawab City” has just no parallel as per Centre in Uttar Pradesh! Why is it that Centre always has demonstrated that Bench for UP at any place other than Lucknow is just a fantasy not worth to be ever seriously considered! This despite the irrefutable fact that Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Centre itself recommended in mid 1970s three High Court Benches for undivided UP yet not one was created and yet no CJI including the incumbent CJI Dr DY Chandrachud who hails from Maharashtra just like his predecessor UU Lalit ever says one word on it!

Why we find UP especially West UP witnessing more crime incidents and so also Bihar which is in total mess yet why no High Court Bench created either in West UP or in Bihar? Why a peaceful State like Karnataka with population of just 6 crore is promptly given two High Court Benches for just 4 and 8 districts at Dharwad and Gulbarga respectively but for West UP which has population of more than 10 crore not even a Bench given leave alone High Court despite Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommending the same? Is this not arbitrary, whimsical and falls foul of Article 14 of Constitution? Yet no word is ever said by any CJI on it!

Why only few States like Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal and Assam have multiple High Court Benches but States like UP and Bihar where more Benches needed have either one or none? How can this be ever justified? It certainly merits no reiteration that an improvement in law and order situation will remain a chimera if more Benches are not set up where they are urgently needed as in Bihar and West UP due to Centre controlling, cribbing and confining creation of Bench to just few elite States only!

It must be asked: Why can’t Centre change the manner in which High Court Benches are set up as they are found to be riddled with contradictions, arbitrariness and absurdities of the highest order? The single most thought provoking question which keeps flooding my mind most of the time is: Why can’t uniformity be brought about in creation of High Court Benches so that there is no discrimination, disparity and divisiveness?

Of course, Centre has the untrammelled power to bring about the much requisite changes and usher in uniformity among different States on the moot question of number of Benches in different States so that no State feels left out in the cold! The criminal justice system is in tatters because Centre is dead determined that West UP and lawless Bihar should have no High Court Bench even after 75 years of independence! This disparity, disingenuous approach and double standards by Centre in allotment of High Court Benches to different States must definitely change now once and for all so that no State is left out in the lurch! No denying it!

Parvez Alam (Advocate), BA, LLB, LLM,
Chamber No. 151, Near Election Office,
Collectrate Compound, Kutchery, Meerut - 250003