The Supreme Court has disposed of a writ petition filed by a 95-year-old petitioner seeking urgent directions for the Allahabad High Court to hear and decide her second appeal, which has been pending since 2013.

The Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice R. Mahadevan directed that the order in the present writ petition be treated as a representation addressed to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.

"In last two months, we have come across many writ petitions filed by the litigants whose proceedings are pending before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad past more than three decades seeking directions that the matter should be heard expeditiously by the High Court," the Court noted.

Additionally, it noted, "This is one more petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India filed by a litigant by the name of `Kamla Bai, aged around 95 years, with a fervent appeal that the High Court be requested to take up her Second Appeal No.1285/2013 and decide the matter at the earliest."

The Court urged the Chief Justice to consider the issue of long-pending cases and take appropriate administrative measures to expedite proceedings. "Let this petition be treated as a representation addressed to the Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court...Let the Hon’ble Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court look into the matter and pass an appropriate order in this regard on its administrative side," the Court said.

Acknowledging the severe backlog of cases, the Court pointed out that the Allahabad High Court has been struggling to manage its heavy caseload. The Court noted that despite having a sanctioned strength of 160 judges, the High Court is currently operating with only 84 judges, with each judge handling approximately 15,000 to 20,000 cases.

“There is no doubt that the High Court of Allahabad is flooded with litigation. We are informed that each Hon’ble Judge in the High Court has with him or her around 15000 to 20000 matters. The High Court has a sanctioned strength of 160 Judges but unfortunately is working today with a strength of 84 Judges. The litigants are eagerly waiting for their matters to be taken up and decided. The only way out is to take necessary steps at the earliest to fill up the vacancies by recommending suitable persons on the basis of pure merit and ability,” the Court observed.

The Court directed its registry to forward a copy of the writ petition and the order to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court for further consideration. It emphasized the need for urgent administrative intervention to address the backlog crisis. "The Registry shall forward one copy of the Writ Petition along with this order to the Hon’ble the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court," it directed.

Recently, the Supreme Court issued directions enabling the appointment of retired High Court judges as ad hoc judges to help clear case backlogs, reiterating the necessity of judicial appointments to ensure timely justice.

Cause Title: Kamla Bai v. High Court of Judicature of Allahabad & Ors. [Writ Petition (Civil) No.84/2025]

Appearance:-

Petitioner: Advocates Ajay Veer Singh, Divya Garg, Uday Ram Bokadia, Subham Singh, Mahima Shekhar, Indu Shekhar, Atit Jain, Nishant Singh (AOR), Sonal Jain

Click here to read/download the Order