Go To Supreme Court To Get A High Court Bench In West UP: UP CM

Summary: The long-standing demand for establishment of a High Court Bench in West Uttar Pradesh has again intensified following a meeting between a delegation of advocates and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. According to the article, the delegation submitted a memorandum concerning the Bench and was advised to approach the Supreme Court. The article highlights the reaction of lawyers in Meerut and other districts of West UP, including resolutions concerning BJP representatives, and extensively argues that litigants in the region face substantial travel, time and financial burdens in approaching the Allahabad High Court at Prayagraj. It refers repeatedly to the recommendations of the Justice Jaswant Singh Commission, the 230th Report of the Law Commission of India, Article 14 of the Constitution, the Lucknow Bench, and High Court Benches established in several other States and regions. It also discusses the pendency of cases before the Allahabad High Court, historical agitations by lawyers, the creation of Uttarakhand, and demands made by political and legal figures over different periods. The article lists the Western, Central, Bundelkhand and Eastern divisions of Uttar Pradesh and their constituent districts. It ultimately calls upon the Centre to address the demand and urges the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of what the author considers unequal treatment in the distribution of High Court Benches.

West UP Lawyers Intensify Demand for High Court Bench

“We have been pursuing most relentlessly the most legitimate and most compelling demand for High Court Bench in West UP for many decades. People from this region have to travel to Prayagraj for justice, which involves considerable time and expense. If the government says it cannot provide a Bench, the responsibility cannot simply be shifted elsewhere. We will intensify our democratic and legal struggle until the demand is addresses. The delegation of advocates submitted a memorandum to the CM Yogi Adityanath who told them government could not provide a Bench and advised then to approach Supreme Court.”

Mr Anuj Sharma who is President of Meerut Bar Association and so also Chairman of Central Action Committee comprising of lawyers of 22 districts

For first time in last 25 years that I have been in Meerut, have I noticed that there is most huge seething tsunami of anger among lawyers of West UP against BJP for so brazenly bulldozing the most legitimate and most pressing demand for a High Court Bench in West UP which has been most unfairly denied since last 80 years of independence while not taking even an year after independence to create a permanent seat of High Court Bench in Lucknow for just 12 districts even though Allahabad High Court is so close to Lucknow. Not only just this much but litigants of 30 districts of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP attached with not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad which falls even far more away than Lucknow from West UP which culminated in partition of UP 26 years ago when many people of hilly areas of undivided UP sacrificed their precious lives as they had to travel thousands of kilometers all the way till Allahabad to seek justice which in itself is the biggest betrayal of Constitution and most merciless butchering of equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution and so also deepest burial of justice and in addition worst mockery of poorest litigants of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP! At a general body meeting on September 22, 2026, the lawyers of Meerut Bar Association resolved to bar BJP-elected representatives and office-bearers from entering the court complex. It also decided to initiate the withdrawal of vakalatnamas (a written legal document that a client signs to authorize a lawyer or advocate to represent them in a court of law) filed by its members for serving and former BJP representatives in various courts, including MP-MLA courts. Mr Anuj Kumar Sharma who is President of Meerut Bar Association said the decisions followed a meeting between a nine-member delegation and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Mr Parvez Alam who is General Secretary of Meerut Bar Association also expressed his huge disappointment at this fresh unpalatable episode in which MPs and MLAs and senior leaders of BJP maintained a deafening silence and said that lawyers were interrupted while they were speaking by UP CM which really even makes me hang my head in shame! This is definitely most baffling indeed!

Centre’s Approach to High Court Bench Demand

What leaves me completely flabbergasted is to see how ruthlessly Centre has most openly chosen to ride roughshod over the most legitimate and compelling demand of High Court Bench in West UP which makes for most depressing reading! How long will Centre keep ensuring that creation of a High Court Bench in West UP remains struck in a rut? What is even more baffling to note is that while Centre did not allow even one High Court Bench in undivided UP even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommended maximum three High Court Benches – a permanent seat in West UP and two Circuit Benches in hilly areas of undivided UP yet not even one created which culminated in partition of Uttar Pradesh 26 years ago as people started huge agitations due to its non-implementation and many sacrificed their precious lives and then same Centre conceded separate Statehood itself named Uttarakhand with population of just about 88 lakh people then and separate High Court and separate Capital – no Punjab and Haryana formula of same High Court and same Capital! If Centre had ensured creation of two Circuit Benches in hilly areas of undivided UP, UP would never have been partitioned! This shows the utter contempt with which Centre has treated West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP until people of hilly areas took to streets and many sacrificed their precious lives! Centre then ensured creation of High Court Bench in Aurangabad as recommended by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission which already had multiple High Court Benches at Nagpur and Panaji and so also at Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Madurai in Tamil Nadu yet most astoundingly Apex Court never took suo motu cognizance of it nor even now last year when fifth High Court Bench created in Kolhapur in Maharashtra even though Maharashtra population is more than half less than UP and very near to West UP and pending cases even less than West UP!

How long will Centre keep putting Bench issue in West UP back in the box? Why Centre has made an “open and shut” case into an intractable case? The nation belongs, without qualification, to every citizen and right to equality is fundamental right under Article 14 of Constitution then why Centre has conferred only five elite States – Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Assam and West Bengal to have multiple High Court Benches and on what grounds? What is there in back of my mind always is: Why Centre is so deadly biased? What I am underlining is that Centre’s approach is not just flawed but also completely biased for which Centre cannot be ever given a clean chit! Even Supreme Court has definitely not crowned itself with glory by never taking suo motu cognizance of it!

When a High Court Bench can be created in Ladakh for just 2 districts till March 2026 and increased to 7 from April 2026 just like fifth High Court Bench created in Maharashtra at Kolhapur for just 6 districts which started functioning from August 18, 2025 then why West UP with 30 districts have not even a single Bench with more than 10 or 11 crore people which is more than all these five elite States and West UP alone has more pending cases also than all the other States? The point that I am trying to underscore here is: How long will such a most pressing issue be kept in endless limbo by Centre?

Article 14 and Distribution of High Court Benches

The larger question here is: How long will Apex Court keep watching this most open nepotism and blatant discrimination in distribution of High Court Benches in different States and different regions happening right under the nose of judiciary? Worst part is: Neither national press including news channels highlighted it nor Apex Court has ever dared to take suo motu cognizance of it! Eminent and senior advocate and former Judge of Delhi High Court and former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court – Hon’ble Mr Justice (Retd) S Muralidhar very rightly opined that, “If court themselves and their processes turn into sites of oppression, it will undermine the faith of the people in the justice system and its ability to deliver fair and equal justice.” It is an incontrovertible fact that West UP should have been bestowed High Court Bench since 1947 as it owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court but even as 2047 is fast approaching, we see most disappointingly that Centre appears in just no mood to relent and top court too not taking suo motu cognizance of it while Eastern UP has High Court Bench in Lucknow since July 1948 so close to Allahabad High Court!

Why Apex Court never steps in to check misuse of unbridled power of Centre to discriminate most mercilessly between different States and different regions in distribution of High Court Benches most mercilessly which is worst butchering of Article 14 as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution? The point that I am trying to underscore here is: How long will such a most pressing issue be kept in limbo by Centre? What hobbles, hackles and harangues my mind is that why Centre is most dead determined never to allow even a single Bench in West UP with more than 10 crore people when it can ensure that States like Karnataka with just 6 crore people have High Court and multiple High Court Benches? The question on everyone lips is: Why 230th Report of Law Commission of India has not been implemented uniformly all across India even after 17 years of its report being submitted?

Political and Historical Support for West UP Bench

On a more serious note, common sense dictates that West UP must have two High Court Benches as demanded by ruling party BJP MP Laxmikant Vajpayee in Parliament two times this year in 2026 at Meerut and Agra and so also in 2016 by ruling party former Union Minister Dr Satyapal Singh in Parliament at again Meerut and Agra! Even former PM late Atal Bihari Vajpayee also demanded High Court Bench in West UP at Meerut in 1986 as Leader of Opposition which is all on record! Dr BR Ambedkar had recommended separate Statehood itself for West UP just like former UP CM Sampoornanand in 1955, Mayawati among others! How long will the sword of uncertainty loom large over most pressing issue of creation of a High Court Bench in West UP?

The central question here is: How long will Centre keep discriminating between different States and different regions without any prima facie reason to substantiate it? Today another question is unavoidable: How long will Supreme Court desist from taking suo motu cognizance of this open cheating and most merciless atrocious discrimination perpetrated in distribution of High Courts, High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions with impunity by Centre without ever being taken to task by Apex Court which definitely makes for most depressing reading!

Long-Running Agitation by West UP Lawyers

I am completely fed up and most utterly disgusted to see since last 25 years that I have been in Meerut in West UP how the lawyers of West UP have been most relentlessly agitating for the most sacred, most legitimate and most compelling demand for creation of a High Court Bench in West UP but to no avail! The lawyers of West UP went on complete strike for 6 months sacrificing their own livelihood when I just landed in Meerut for creation of a High Court Bench in West UP and again for 6 months in 2014-15 apart from strike every Saturday since last more than 45 years and many times even on Wednesday as we see even now still no action we witness on ground most astoundingly!

It is hard not to conclude that Centre has been most deadly biased and has left no stone unturned to ensure that West UP is deprived from having even a single High Court Bench not even a Circuit Bench while simultaneously not allowing even an year to pass after independence to create a single High Court Bench for whole of undivided UP at Lucknow so close to Allahabad High Court in July 1948 and worst of all attached litigants of 30 districts of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP with not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad! One can safely say that the curtains need to be brought down on this long lingering most pressing issue! Why Centre finds itself in a predicament in an “open and shut” case like this?

Allahabad High Court Pendency and Litigants of West UP

It is a matter of supreme irony that the most populated State of India that is Uttar Pradesh which tops the State list with maximum number of pending cases more than 12 lakhs as conceded by President of Allahabad High Court Bar Association – Mr Rakesh Pandey has just one High Court Bench at Lucknow so close to Allahabad in Eastern UP created 78 years ago in July 1948 and West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court has not even a single High Court Bench not even a Circuit Bench and not only just this but in addition has been attached with not even Lucknow which falls much earlier but right uptill Allahabad to seek justice which in itself is the biggest betrayal of Constitution, deepest burial of justice and worst mockery of poorest litigants of 30 districts of West UP who have to travel whole night and nearly a day by train about 700 to 800 km on average most shockingly! From a legal standpoint, it is UP which tops the State list in having maximum number of pending cases and so also has maximum population more than 25 crores and here too it is West UP which owes for majority of pending cases of UP and still leave alone High Court or permanent seat of High Court Bench has not even a Circuit Bench as Centre is just not ready to concede most disgracefully! I often find myself battling with a moot question: Why is Centre so hell bent in denying West UP even a single Bench and thwarting all chances of creating even a Circuit Bench most spinelessly without any remorse or regret? How can any sensible person in his right senses ever try to justify such autocratic act?

It is not democratic but is most autocratic that the most populated State of India that is Uttar Pradesh which has maximum number of pending cases among all States even after partition of Uttar Pradesh in November 2000 and still has just one High Court Bench in Lucknow so close to Allahabad High Court for just few districts and nowhere else which is absolutely unbelievable and West UP despite owing for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court and contributing maximum to state economy is being accorded most step-motherly treatment by being denied even a single High Court Bench not even a Circuit Bench is most autocratic denial of a High Court Bench to West UP for 80 years after India became independent in 1947 and as if this was not enough attached litigants of 30 districts of West UP with not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad to seek justice which is most baffling indeed!

Justice Jaswant Singh Commission and Earlier Recommendations

One is constrained to observe that denying West UP even a single Bench not even a Circuit Bench is the “worst travesty of justice” which puts on dock the whole life of litigants and their families for no fault of others! The irony could not have been more starker and more murkier! It is West UP which ideally should have been vested with High Court itself as majority of the pending cases of Uttar Pradesh are from West UP which is all on record yet what is most astounding to watch is that it has not even a single High Court Bench permanent seat and what is most worst of all is to see that it has not even a single High Court Circuit Bench! It is known all too well even though many still don’t know that a permanent seat of High Court Bench for Lucknow in Central UP for just very few districts not even in double digits when created way back in July 1948 so close to Allahabad High Court without dishing any frivolous excuses like we have been seeing since last more than five decades for West UP with 30 districts and more than 10 crore people which is maximum districts among all regions of UP and owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court and as if this was not enough contributes maximum to State’s economy about 75 to 80 percent and the reward it has got is not even a single permanent seat of High Court Bench in West UP nor even a Circuit Bench in West UP! To top it all, the litigants of West UP have been attached with not even Lucknow which falls much earlier but right uptill Allahabad which is 230 km far away from even Lucknow which is biggest betrayal of Constitution, biggest national disgrace and deepest burial of justice and worst mockery of poorest litigants of 30 districts of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP as long as it formed part of UP which made practically just no sense at all and culminated in most unfortunate partition of Uttar Pradesh 26 years ago as people had to travel thousands of kilometers all the way till Allahabad and even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission headed by former Supreme Court Judge appointed by Centre itself recommended about 50 years ago two Circuit Benches for hilly areas of undivided UP at Dehradun and Nainital yet not even a single created most atrociously just like a permanent seat of High Court Bench recommended for West UP at Agra yet not even a Circuit Bench created anywhere till date! Only time will tell when the endless wait for even a single High Court Bench in West UP ever end? Former Attorney General of India – Late Soli J Sorabjee had in his capacity as Attorney General had said that, “Centre is empowered to create a High Court Bench in West UP without any recommendation from the Chief Justice or Chief Minister or anyone else in this regard.” Former President of Supreme Court Bar Association MN Krishnamani had very categorically stated that, “Only by the creation of a Bench of High Court in West UP will the people be able to secure justice.”

Comparison With High Court Benches in Other States

We saw how Centre gave separate statehood itself with separate High Court at Hyderabad to Telangana with just 3.5 crore people in June 2014 and so also earlier also to many States like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh among others whose population is more than 6 or 7 crore less than West UP and still have separate High Court! Karnataka with just 6 crore people were given two High Court Benches for just 4 and 8 districts at Dharwad and Gulbarga in 2008 itself and now Bench recommended for Mangaluru by State Government for just 3 districts! How long will Centre pat itself on the back that UP which tops state list in having maximum number of pending cases among all the States has just one High Court Bench created 78 years ago so close to Allahabad High Court at Lucknow where it was just not needed at all and nowhere else not even when UP was undivided even though West UP owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court?

Case Pendency Before Allahabad High Court

How can Centre gloss over that in a startling revelation, the Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal revealed in July 2026 that while Apex Court had 26 cases pending for more than 30 years, the 25 High Courts together had 80,660 such cases. Most strikingly and most alarmingly, we see that it was disclosed that Allahabad High Court alone accounted for 53,787 cases of them – nearly two out of every three cases pending for over three decades in nation’s High Courts. The figure based on the National Judicial Data Grid as on July 16, 2026 also shows that the Allahabad High Court has the highest overall pendency among all High Courts at 1.22 million cases owing for roughly one-fifth of the total pendency across all 25 High Courts. Of these, 161,000 have been pending for more than 20 years, 488,000 for over 10 years and 730,000 for more than five years. While Allahabad High Court accounts for roughly one-fifth of the total pendency across all 25 High Courts (1.22 million out of 6.47 million cases), it alone houses around 67% of all cases pending for over 30 years, more than one third of cases older than 20 years and about 30% of all cases pending for over a decade. Here too it is West UP which alone owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court as acknowledged by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by Centre itself which recommended permanent seat of High Court Bench in West UP yet after 50 years not even a Circuit Bench created anywhere in any of 30 districts of West UP!

Regions and Economic Divisions of Uttar Pradesh

The point being made here is that it is Centre which most unscrupulously has been acting as the biggest stumbling block for creation of High Court Bench in West UP on one pretext or the other which has only served to portray it in poor light just like being the biggest litigator has denigrated its reputation. How long will Centre keep sabotaging and keep deferring the most compelling and most legitimate demand for a High Court Bench in West UP on one pretext or the other? Centre’s decision to deprive West UP from having even a single High Court Bench not even a Circuit Bench is bereft of any logic and so the blame lies squarely on shoulders of Centre. For the exclusive benefit and indulgence of my esteemed readers, let me now lay bare that Uttar Pradesh falls in how many regions or economic divisions and districts included in them. They are as follows:-

Western Division (Paschimanchal – 30 districts)

Western Division (Paschimanchal – 30 districts) – Saharanpur, Muzaffarnagar, Bijnor, Rampur, Budaun, Mathura, Etah, Bareilly, Pilibhit, Shahjahanpur, Firozabad, Agra, Mainpuri, Baghpat, Meerut, Amroha, Moradabad, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Ghaziabad, Bulandshahr, Hathras, Aligarh, Kannauj, Farrukhabad, Auraiya, Etawah, Kasganj, Hapur, Sambhal and Shamli.

Central Division (Madhyanchal – 10 districts)

Central Division (Madhyanchal – 10 districts) – Lakhimpur Kheri, Hardoi, Sitapur, Barabanki, Lucknow, Unnao, Rae Bareli, Kanpur Dehat, Kanpur Nagar and Fatehpur.

Bundelkhand Division (7 districts)

Bundelkhand Division (7 districts) – Mahoba, Hamirpur, Chitrakoot, Banda, Jalaun, Jhansi and Lalitpur.

Eastern Division (Purvanchal – 28 districts)

Eastern Division (Purvanchal – 28 districts) – Ambedkar Nagar, Ayodhya, Siddharthnagar, Basti, Maharajganj, Gorakhpur, Kushinagar, Deoria, Mau, Azamgarh, Ballia, Bhadohi, Varanasi, Jaunpur, Sonbhadra, Mirzapur, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Balrampur, Gonda, Chandauli, Shravasti, Bahraich, Sant Kabir Nagar, Sultanpur, Ghazipur, Pratapgarh and Amethi.

(Source: Sam Samayik Ghatna Chakra Uttar Pradesh At A Glance 2026 on page 81 published from Allahabad)

Continuing Agitation for High Court Bench in West UP

I am completely fed up and most utterly disgusted to see since last 25 years that I have been in Meerut in West UP how the lawyers of West UP have been most relentlessly and most dedicatedly agitating for the most sacred, most legitimate and most compelling demand for creation of a High Court Bench in West UP but to no avail! The lawyers of West UP went on complete strike for 6 months sacrificing their own livelihood when I just landed in Meerut in 2001 for creation of a High Court Bench in West UP and again for 6 months in 2014-15 apart from strike every Saturday since last more than 45 years and many times even on Wednesday some years ago apart from so many other meetings for creation of High Court Bench in West UP still no action we witnessed on ground most astoundingly!

It is hard not to conclude that Centre has been most deadly biased and has left no stone unturned to ensure that West UP is deprived from having even a single High Court Bench not even a Circuit Bench while simultaneously not allowing even an year to pass after independence to create a single High Court Bench for whole of undivided UP at Lucknow so close to Allahabad High Court in July 1948 and worst of all attached litigants of 30 districts of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP with not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad! One can safely say that the curtains need to be brought down on this long lingering most pressing issue! Why Centre finds itself in a predicament in an “open and shut” case like this?

Demand for Benches in Other States

If one look at the whole picture, we see that it reflects a far deeper malaise which now no more can be hidden from public gaze any longer. How long will Centre keep downplaying and stonewalling the most legitimate and compelling demand for a High Court Bench in West UP and so also in Orissa and Bihar and some other States? This is clearly a stark reminder of how much Centre discriminates most ruthlessly yet is never held accountable even by top court! Why Apex Court never takes Centre to task for it?

Supreme Court and Distribution of High Court Benches

How long will Supreme Court abjectly keep playing second fiddle in front of Centre and keep giving unfettered licence to most horrendously and most mercilessly discriminate and perpetrate most atrocious discrimination perpetrated in distribution of High Courts and High Court Benches and High Court Circuit Benches in different States and different regions? Not a single High Court Judge of Allahabad High Court or Patna High Court or Jodhpur High Court or Cuttack High Court or Ahmedabad High Court among others nor even any Judge of Supreme Court has ever dared to take suo motu cognizance of this most merciless butchering of equality as enshrined in Article 14 of Constitution! Biggest insane person on earth in his/her right senses will definitely never endorse what Congress and BJP have done who have ruled in Centre that just one High Court Bench for most populated State of India with maximum number of pending cases and that too so close to Allahabad High Court at Lucknow way back in July 1948 and deprived West UP from having not even a single High Court Bench not even a single High Court Circuit Bench which owes for majority of pending cases of Allahabad High Court which is all on record and has more than 10 crore people and 30 districts and so also attached litigants of 30 districts of West UP and hilly areas of undivided UP with not even Lucknow but right uptill Allahabad which culminated in partition of Uttar Pradesh 26 years ago in which so many people sacrificed their lives and yet Supreme Court never dared to take suo motu cognizance of non-implementation of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission recommendations headed by former Supreme Court Judge appointed by Centre itself which recommended maximum 3 High Court Benches for undivided UP – two High Court Circuit Benches in Dehradun and Nainital and a permanent seat of High Court Bench in West UP yet not even one created anywhere which is a national disgrace and Maharashtra which already had multiple High Court Benches at Nagpur and Panaji one more created at Aurangabad as recommended within a very short span of time in mid 1980s itself for just 7 districts then and now one more fifth High Court Bench approved for just 6 districts at Kolhapur which started functioning from August 18, 2025 without any recommendations from any Commission but in UP not a single Bench created in last 78 years and so also lawless Bihar has none and Rajasthan only one and Orissa and Gujarat none and Centre has equipped only five elite States – Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam and Madhya Pradesh with multiple High Court Benches most astoundingly leaving prominent big States like UP, Rajasthan, lawless Bihar out from the elite club!

It must be definitely asked upfront: Why no Judge of Supreme Court ever dares to openly speak out on it? Most bone chillingly, even the Supreme Court in last 80 years of independence has never dared to take suo motu cognizance of it and even the press which is considered the fourth pillar of Indian democracy including newspapers and news channels also maintains a conspicuous inexplicable deafening silence on it and hardly ever accords any prime coverage to it! The most troubling question that crops up here is: Why is Centre just not willing and ready to address it? Centre must stop dishing lame excuses and address it like it did last year in Kolhapur in Western Maharashtra for just 6 districts and now in Ladakh for just 7 districts! No denying or disputing it!

Access to Speedy and Affordable Justice

At the crux of the problem is most stubborn approach of Centre and State Government in refusing to relent and acknowledge the clear writing on the wall! Why Centre has no empathy with humongous problems faced by litigants of West UP due to no Bench here? Speedy and affordable justice at doorsteps is the cornerstone of democratic system which definitely cannot be allowed to be strangulated by depriving litigants of West UP from having even a single Bench! It is time for Apex Court to take note of the big picture and act decisively to ensure that a High Court Bench is created in West UP at the earliest and the huge sufferings – physical, mental and financial faced by the litigants of West UP is not prolonged any longer now! No doubt, the earlier this is done, the better it shall be!

Conclusion

To sum it up, Centre has to deliver now! How can Centre abdicate its constitutional duty to ensure that the worst discrimination that has been perpetrated in distribution of High Court Benches in different States and different regions is brought to an end altogether? How can Apex Court also refuse to take suo motu cognizance of it which directly pertains to judiciary itself? There is no doubt that our highest court has mostly always stood up for its citizens and upheld the Constitution. One fondly and fervently hopes that Apex Court will at least now boldly take suo motu cognizance of it at the earliest as it is a blatant egregious violation of Article 14 of Constitution which envisages right to equality as a fundamental right yet most unfortunately on this count lies in tatters