Litigants coming for justice facing delay tactics: Allahabad High Court asks judicial officers for explanation

The Allahabad High Court recently sought an explanation from the District and Sessions Judge, Lucknow and the Special Judge (NI Act) for failing to decide a case within the time period set by the High Court [Mahmood Ahmad Siddiqui v. The Court Special Judge NI Act, Lko. And Another]..Justice Shamim Ahmed said that the trial of the case under the Negotiable Instruments (NI) Act had been pending since 2014. Despite two orders by the High Court for its expeditious disposal, the Special Judge was giving long dates and resorting to delaying tactics.“This Court is also of the view that the working of the learned Special Judge, N.I. Act, Lucknow appears to be very casual and he had also avoided to decide the case. The litigants who come before this Court to get justice are facing delay tactics adopted by the learned trial courts,” the Court said..The District & Sessions Judge had been earlier directed by the High Court to monitor the progress of the trial. On his "casual approach" in ensuring the same, Justice Ahmed observed,“The learned District and Sessions Judge, Lucknow had not given heed to the case and had rejected the transfer application of the applicant for transferring the case from the present presiding officer to another court in the same district, which is also a very casual approach adopted by the District and Sessions Judge, Lucknow.”.The Court was hearing a petition seeking transfer of the NI Act case to some other court in Lucknow. The counsel representing the petitioner submitted that a coordinate bench in 2020 had directed the trial court to decide the case within three months.Since the case was not decided, the petitioner in 2023 had again approached the High Court. On October 31, 2023, the trial court was again directed to decide the case within three months, and the District & Sessions Judge was directed to monitor the progress of the trial..The State told the Court that it was a very serious matter as trial court judgeswere not working as per the guidelines of superior courts. Observing that both the orders for expeditious disposal of the case have not been complied with by the trial court and that the District and Sessions Judge, Lucknow had not monitored the trial, the High Court said,“This Court feels it necessary to call an explanation from the learned District and Sessions Judge, Lucknow to explain why he has not monitored the trial of the case in spite of order passed by co-ordinate Bench of this Court on 31.10.2023 and an explanation from the learned Special Judge, N.I. Act, Lucknow before whom the proceedings of the instant case is pending, to explain why the case has not been decided yet despite the two orders have been passed by co-ordinate Bench of this Court dated 06.03.2020 and 31.10.2023.”.The Court has ordered the judicial officers to file their explanation before May 29. Advocate Avinash Pandey represented the petitioner.Advocate Ashok Kumar Singh represented the State..[Read Order]