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2024 Supreme(All) 1419

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
ROHIT RANJAN AGARWAL, J.
Digvijay Singh – Petitioner
Versus
Indu Singh And Others - Respondents
Matters Under Article 227 No. 11221 Of 2024
Decided On : 14-11-2024

Advocates Appeared:
For the Petitioner: Ajay Kumar Giri, Surendra Kumar.

IMPORTANT POINT
The court cannot direct subordinate courts to expedite civil suits, emphasizing judicial discretion in determining urgency.

Headnote:

(A) Constitution of India - Articles 226 and 227 - Writ petition for expeditious disposal of a civil suit - The court held that no direction can be issued to subordinate courts for deciding suits within a stipulated period, emphasizing the need for judicious discretion by the trial judge. (Paras 3 and 4)

(B) Judicial Discretion - The court reiterated that it is inappropriate to expedite cases through writ petitions, as it may lead to unequal treatment of litigants. (Paras 3 and 4)

Facts of the case:

The petitioner sought a directive for the early disposal of Civil Suit No.1756 of 2023 pending before the Civil Judge, Varanasi.

Findings of Court:

The court dismissed the petition, affirming that the decision to expedite cases lies with the trial judge.

Issues: The main issue was whether the court could direct the expeditious hearing of a civil suit.

Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that expediting civil suits through writ petitions is inappropriate and should be left to the discretion of the trial judge.

Result: Writ petition dismissed.

JUDGMENT :

(Rohit Ranjan Agarwal, J.)

1. This writ petition has been filed with the following prayer:-

    "(i) directing the Civil Judge (Junior Division) Hawali to decide the Civil Suit No.1756 of 2023 (Digvijay Singh Versus Indu Singh and others), pending before Civil Judge, Varanasi within stipulated period."

2. From the perusal of the record, it transpires that the petitioner has prayed for early disposal of Civil Suit No.1756 of 2023, pending before the court of Civil Judge (Junior Division), Hawali.

3. The Division Bench of this Court in case of Ali Shad Usmani vs. Ali Isteba, 2015 (2) ADJ 250 (DB) has held that no direction can be issued to the sub-ordinate courts for deciding the suit within stipulated period. Relevant portion of the judgment is extracted hereasunder:-

    "We are not inclined to issue a direction for the expeditious hearing of a Civil Suit which is pending before the Civil Judge (Junior Division), District-Azamgarh. It would be most inappropriate to Court to entertain a writ petition under Article 226 and/or under Article 227 of the Constitution simply for the purpose of expediting the hearing of a suit. Such orders, if granted, place a class of litigants, who move the court in a separate and preferential category whereas other cases which may be of similar or greater antiquity and urgency are left to be decided in the normal channel. Hence, any such direction may be issued with the greatest care and circumspection by the High Court otherwise the Civil Courts will be overburdened only with requests for expeditious disposal of suits, which have been expedited by the High Court. Most of the litigants cannot afford the expense of moving the High court and would not, therefore, be in a position to have the benefit of such an order.

Ultimately, it must be left to the judicious exercise of discretion of the concerned Court to determine whether a ground for urgency has been made out. We emphasize that there may be other cases such as involving senior citizens, those who are differently abled or people suffering from a particular disablilty socio-economic or otherwise which may prime cause of urgent disposal. It is for the learned Trial Judge in each case to apply his or her mind and decide whether the hearing of the suit to be expedited.

For these reasons, we are not inclined to entertain the petition. The petition is, accordingly, dismissed. There shall be no order as to cost."

4. In view of the Division Bench judgment of this Court in the case of Ali Shad Usmani (supra), this Court declines to grant the relief as prayed for.

5. The writ petitions is dismissed.

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