The Allahabad High Court has expressed concern over delays by the Uttar Pradesh government in operationalising the creation of 900 courts, despite prior financial approval, and directed that a final decision be taken expeditiously.
A Division Bench of Justice Alok Mathur and Justice Amitabh Kumar Rai was hearing a suo motu PIL concerning the creation of 9,149 courts to tackle rising pendency. The Court noted that although the State had granted in-principle approval and budgetary sanction for setting up around 900 courts in the first phase, the process had not been finalised even after the commencement of the next financial year.
The Court noted “there is a steady rate of institution of litigation on one hand while the rate of pendency has also not decreased and there is dire need to take holistic view of the entire situation and seek solutions before it is too late.“
The Bench criticised the State for raising “frivolous” and repetitive queries many of which were already in the public domain or previously answered observing that such conduct appeared to delay decision-making. It emphasised that once a policy decision has been taken to increase court strength, only relevant queries should be raised and dealt with in a time-bound manner.
Highlighting the constitutional mandate of speedy justice, the Court noted the urgent need to address rising pendency in subordinate courts and called for a ‘holistic approach’ involving coordinated efforts of all branches of government.
In a significant suggestion, the Court recommended that Parliament and State legislatures incorporate a ‘Litigation Impact Assessment’ clause in every proposed legislation to anticipate the volume of litigation likely to arise and to plan judicial infrastructure accordingly.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on May 19, 2026, with the Court indicating that failure to take a final decision may require the Legal Remembrancer to appear in person.
Appearances:
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Sri Vijay Dixit, learned counsel and Sri Sudeep Kumar, learned Additional Advocate General, State of U.P.
Counsel for Respondent(s) : C.S.C., Gaurav Mehrotra, Vijay Dixit
