Let me begin by first and foremost expressing my utmost gratitude and profuse compliments to former Justice BP Singh (retd) of Allahabad High Court for not just accepting the invitation to swear in the newly elected members of Meerut Bar but also publicly supporting the age old demand for a high court bench in West UP. He said unambiguously that Centre should promptly create a high court bench in West UP without any more further delay. He also exhorted the lawyers of Meerut Bar to make bench movement a public movement. He also suggested that it is only by connecting people that the bench movement will be made more stronger and stronger.

Justice BP Singh minced no words in making it absolutely clear that as long as this bench movement for creation of a high court bench in West UP is restricted to lawyers only and will not get connected with people it will never attain success. It is a no brainer thus that the more than 9 crore people of West UP would have to connect with this bench issue to make it a splendid success. There can be no denying this and when such an experienced Judge of the Allahabad High Court himself says this on record, what more should I say?

When a bench can exist just 150-200 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow then why can’t it exist 700-800 km away at any of the 26 districts of West UP? Karnataka is just no patch to UP yet it has got 3 benches. The population of UP is more than 20 crore and of West UP alone is more than 9 crore and that of Karnataka is just 6 crore. For just 4 and 8 districts we see Centre creating 2 more benches in Karnataka even though they never agitated for a bench as opposed to the lawyers of West UP and the people here who have been agitating since many decades for a bench yet not a single bench has been created here! May I ask why? We see maximum lawlessness in UP and most notoriously in West UP yet no bench exists here! Why?

All parties admit that there has been an exodus of people from many places of West UP like Shamli, Kairana etc due to deteriorating law and order even though there is a difference over which community is affected worst. My point is simple: Why can’t a high court bench be created here by which all members of all communities benefit equally? For a peaceful state like Karnataka Dr Manmohan Singh created 2 more benches of high court at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts respectively but for 26 districts of West UP and 75 districts of UP, the present PM – Narendra Damodardas Modi even after completing 2 years in office does not have the guts to create even a single more bench in not just West UP but in any hook and corner of UP which has 75 districts and is bigger than many countries!

Why when UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 20 crore, maximum districts – 75, maximum constituencies, maximum MPs – 80, maximum MLAs – 404, maximum PM including Narendra Modi, maximum pending cases – more than 10 lakh and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57%, maximum Judges which earlier was 160 and increased to 200 in high court, maximum vacancies of Judges – 88 in high court, maximum poverty, maximum villages more than one lakh, maximum cities more than 700, maximum fake encounters killings, custody killings, maximum cases of human rights violations, maximum undertrials, maximum cases of crime, loot, arson and riots and here too West UP tops with Saharanpur riots, Meerut riots, Muzaffarnagar riots tarnishing our international reputation to the extent that UN Secretary General termed UP as “crime and rape capital” of India and what not yet Centre is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but entire UP? Why when UP sends maximum MPs to Lok Sabha – 80, maximum MPs to Rajya Sabha – 30, maximum MLAs to State Assembly – 404 MLAs and maximum members to State Legislative Council – 100 MLAs and yet has least benches – only one and that too just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow?

More than 9 crore people of West UP are compelled to travel more than 800 km on an average all the way to Allahabad to attend hearings, spend huge money in travelling, staying and other needless expenses as Centre feels only Eastern UP is elite class and that is why a single bench for UP is set up just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow which is capital even though capitals of other states like Bhopal, Dehradun, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhubaneshwar etc have neither high court nor bench!

Why it was way back in 1955 that Dr Sampoornanand who was the then UP CM had strongly recommended the creation of a high court bench in West UP at Meerut but Centre refused even as people of West UP and those of hilly areas now in Uttaranchal had to travel thousands of kilometers all the way to Allahabad to get justice? Why Centre decided that only one bench will exist in UP and that too just 150-200 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow and not anywhere else? Why many UP CM even later like Banarsi Das, ND Tiwari, etc also favoured creation of a bench but Centre refused?

Why is it that Justice Jaswant Commission recommended a bench at Aurangabad in Maharashtra which Centre immediately accepted and also 3 benches for West UP which it flatly refused? Why benches were also approved for Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Madurai in Tamil Nadu but not for West UP? Why the landmark recommendations of a former Supreme Court Judge and former Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court – Justice Jaswant Singh of creating 3 high court benches in West UP has been given a quiet burial?

Why Centre decided to give bench to 2 districts of Goa with population of 14 lakhs, for Andaman and Nicobar at Port Blair for just 3 districts with population of 3 lakh but not to 39 districts of West UP which includes those in now Uttaranchal with population of 10 crore? Why Centre decided to create a high court for Sikkim for just 4 districts with population of just 6 lakhs and about 50 pending cases but not to West UP? Why when a bench can be created at Goa for just 2 districts, at Dharwad for just 4 districts, at Gulbarga for just 8 districts, at Aizwal for just 8 districts, at Port Blair for 3 districts, at Lucknow for 12 districts etc but no bench for West UP with 26 districts?

Why Centre decided to create high courts for Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur with just 36, 29 and 27 lakh population but denied a bench to West UP with more than 9 crore population? Why Centre has overlooked that as UP accounts for maximum pending cases – 10 lakh cases and here too West UP accounts for more than 57% of pending cases, UP must have maximum and not minimum benches and West UP must have most benches and not none as we see most unfortunately right now?

Why statehood is given promptly to states which are much smaller than West UP, hardly have 1 or 2 crore population like Haryana, Punjab, Chattisgarh, Uttaranchal unlike West UP which has more than 9 crore population? Why the population of no other state except Maharashtra and Bihar is more than that of West UP and here too areawise West UP with more than 98000 square km is more than that of Bihar with 94000 square km yet it has not even a single bench?

Why the poor people of West UP have to travel 700-800 km on an average all the way to Allahabad and the high court and bench of 8 states as also Lahore high court in Pakistan is nearer to West UP as compared to Allahabad yet Centre approved only a single bench for UP at Lucknow just 150 km away from Allahabad? Why the poor people of West UP are compelled to mortgage and ultimately sell their land, all jewellery of their wife etc while fighting cases in Allahabad for many decades which arise out of travelling expenses, hiring lawyer, staying and lodging expenses etc but neither Centre nor State is bothered?

-Sanjeev Sirohi,

Advocate,