Supreme Court Raises Concerns Over Case Listings in High Courts; Directs Allahabad HC to Expedite Ansari's Appeal

New Delhi, Jan 9 (NationPress) On Thursday, the Supreme Court expressed its concerns regarding the backlog of cases in various High Courts, notably the Allahabad High Court, which it described as having a collapsed process for filing and listing cases. “In some of the High Courts, we don't know what will happen. Allahabad HC is one of the High Courts which really one should be worried about. Unfortunately, filing has collapsed, listing has collapsed, nobody knows which matter will be listed,” remarked the Supreme Court.

The remarks were made by a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh while addressing a petition submitted by Abbas Ansari, the son of the late gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing Abbas Ansari, pointed out that despite an order from the apex court to expedite the hearing, no substantial progress was made before the Allahabad High Court concerning his request for interim protection against a government order that declared a parcel of land as evacuee property (government property).

Sibal further explained that while other co-owners received interim relief from the Allahabad HC, Abbas Ansari’s request for interim protection was not addressed at all.

After considering the arguments presented, the Justice-Kant led Bench directed that the matter be prioritized before the Allahabad High Court and instructed the involved parties to maintain the status quo concerning the contested site.

In a previous legal battle, Sibal had argued that Uttar Pradesh authorities, having taken physical possession of Abbas Ansari’s land, commenced construction of housing units on the site under the Awas Yojana.

The apex court had subsequently urged the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad HC to address Abbas Ansari's application for an interim stay “as early as possible” and, specifically, by November 4, 2024.

In its October 21 order, it stated, “We request the Allahabad High Court to take up the application out of turn, if so required, so that the prayer of the petitioner for interim protection can be appropriately adjudicated.”

According to Abbas Ansari’s plea, his grandfather acquired a share in Plot No. 93 in village Jiainau of Lucknow through a registered sale deed in 2004. This property was allegedly gifted to his wife, Rabia Begum, who then bequeathed it to Abbas Ansari and his brother, Umar Ansari, through a registered will.

In 2020, a Sub-Divisional Magistrate in Lucknow issued an order declaring the plot as evacuee property, leading to the dispossession of the Ansari brothers.

The Ansari brothers challenged this decision by filing a writ petition before the Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court.

In the Supreme Court, Abbas Ansari claimed that even though their writ petition was repeatedly listed, no interim stay was granted in their favor, unlike the situation for other affected parties.

Recently, a Bench comprising Justices J.B. Pardiwala and R. Mahadevan expressed their astonishment upon learning that a bail application from a murder accused has remained pending before the Allahabad High Court for four years.

The Justice Pardiwala-led Bench requested the apex court registry to forward its order to the Chief Justice of Allahabad HC for review, stating: “We are shocked to learn from the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner that the bail application filed by the petitioner in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad bearing Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 40542 of 2020 is still pending as on date.”