A Complete Guide to the Allahabad High Court: History, Important Judgements and Insights

Introduction

One of India's oldest High Courts is the Allahabad High Court, which was founded in 1866. Operating within the jurisdiction of the Indian Constitution, it is the highest court in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Now Allahabad is known as Prayagraj. The Allahabad High Court has a architecturally impressive Indo-European building. It has options for both physical and virtual courts with e-filing and live streaming of cases. Its permanent bench in Lucknow deals with cases pertaining to Uttar Pradesh's central and eastern districts.

District Courts and Tribunals are among the lower courts under the High Court's supervision. With 160 judges officially sanctioned, it is one of India's largest High Courts. In civil, criminal, constitutional, and administrative cases, it is essential to the administration of justice.

The High Court is renowned for rendering important rulings that have shaped Indian governance and law. It is the center of several important rulings and has authority over a number of legal areas. As a result of handling a lot of cases, the Allahabad High Court has a backlog of pending cases, which is a problem that many Indian high courts experience.

Historical Significance of Allahabad High Court

Relevance to History of the Allahabad High Court
An important position in Indian judicial history is occupied by the Allahabad High Court. One of India's oldest High Courts, it was founded in 1866 and has been instrumental in forming the legal and constitutional landscape of the nation.

1. Creation and Development

at accordance with the Indian High Courts Act of 1861, the High Court of Judicature for the North-Western Provinces was founded at Agra in 1866. After being moved to Allahabad in 1869, it was formally renamed the Allahabad High Court in 1919. Together with the Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras High Courts, which were established to take the place of the Supreme Courts and Sadar Adalats, it was one of the country's initial High Courts.

 2. Contribution to the Freedom Movement in India

Numerous historic cases pertaining to the Indian freedom movement were heard by the court.
The court heard arguments from notable national leaders, including Jawaharlal Nehru, Motilal Nehru, and Mahatma Gandhi.
It was involved in matters pertaining to civil liberties and press freedom as well as other legal struggles against British colonial power.

3. Seminal Decisions

Numerous rulings rendered by the Allahabad High Court have significantly influenced Indian law and administration. The court's landmark ruling against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 ruled that her election to the Lok Sabha was invalid because of electoral fraud. The Emergency (1975–77) was ultimately imposed as a result of this decision.

 4. The Effects of Judicial Reforms

The court has made a substantial contribution to the advancement of administrative law, human rights, and constitutional law in India. Numerous well-known Allahabad High Court judges have gone on to become Chief Justices of India and Supreme Court justices. It has played a significant role in the development of legal doctrines pertaining to governance, religious freedom, and civil rights.

5. Development and Growth

In 1948, a permanent bench was formed in Lucknow to handle the growing judicial workload.
With 160 judges sanctioned, the Allahabad High Court grew over time to become one of the biggest in India.

In addition to being a court, the Allahabad High Court has played a vital role in India's political, legal, and constitutional development. It remains a cornerstone of justice in Uttar Pradesh and throughout India, both for its part in the liberation movement and its influence on contemporary Indian democracy.

Read More: Latest News and Judgements From Calcutta High Court

Benches of Allahabad High Court

Benches of Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court has two main benches:

1. Principal Bench at Allahabad

• Located in Allahabad (Prayagraj), Uttar Pradesh, this is the main bench of the High Court.
• It has jurisdiction over most of Uttar Pradesh and handles cases related to civil, criminal, constitutional, and administrative laws.
• The Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court presides over this bench.

2. Lucknow Bench

• Established in 1948, the Lucknow Bench handles cases from 12 districts of central and eastern Uttar Pradesh.
• The bench was set up for administrative convenience and ease of access for people from these regions.
• It deals with cases related to government policies, administrative decisions, service matters, and public interest litigation.

Districts under Lucknow Bench’s Jurisdiction:

1. Lucknow
2. Hardoi
3. Sitapur
4. Lakhimpur Kheri
5. Rae Bareli
6. Unnao
7. Faizabad (Ayodhya)
8. Sultanpur
9. Gonda
10. Bahraich
11. Barabanki
12. Shrawasti

Demand for Additional Benches

• Over the years, there have been demands for additional benches in Western and Eastern Uttar Pradesh, particularly in cities like Meerut, Agra, and Gorakhpur, to reduce the workload and make justice more accessible.
• However, no additional benches have been officially approved yet.

The Allahabad High Court operates through its two benches, ensuring the efficient administration of justice across Uttar Pradesh. While the Principal Bench in Allahabad handles most cases, the Lucknow Bench serves as an important judicial center for central and eastern districts.

Read More: Latest News and Judgements From Bombay High Court

Organization of Allahabad High Court

The Allahabad High Court is one of the largest and oldest High Courts in India. It is structured systematically to ensure the smooth functioning of the judiciary in Uttar Pradesh.

1. Structure of the Court

The Allahabad High Court is organized into the following main divisions:

A. Chief Justice & Judges

• The court is headed by the Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court.
• It has a sanctioned strength of 160 judges, making it one of the largest High Courts in India.
• Judges are appointed by the President of India based on recommendations from the Collegium of the Supreme Court.

B. Benches of the High Court

• Principal Bench (Allahabad) – Handles cases from most districts of Uttar Pradesh.
• Lucknow Bench – Handles cases from 12 central and eastern districts of UP.

C. Administrative and Judicial Sections

The court has different sections for handling judicial and administrative matters:

1. Administrative Sections

• Registrar General: Senior judicial officer who oversees court administration.
• Registrars & Deputy Registrars: Handle judicial records, case filing, and scheduling.
• Court Officers & Staff: Assist in the daily functioning of the court.

2. Judicial Sections

• Civil Courts Section: Handles civil matters, including land disputes, property issues, and commercial litigation.
• Criminal Courts Section: Deals with criminal appeals, bail applications, and criminal revisions.
• Writ & Constitutional Section: Handles Public Interest Litigations (PILs) and cases related to constitutional rights.
• Family & Service Matters Section: Deals with matrimonial disputes, government employment, and service rules.

2. Case Distribution & Jurisdiction

• Cases are allocated based on subject matter and territorial jurisdiction.
• The High Court has original, appellate, and supervisory jurisdiction over subordinate courts.
• It has the power to issue writs under Article 226 of the Constitution.

3. Subordinate Judiciary Under Allahabad High Court

The High Court supervises lower courts in Uttar Pradesh, including:

1. District Courts (Civil & Criminal)
2. Family Courts
3. Tribunals (Revenue, Consumer, Labor, etc.)
4. Special Courts (CBI, Anti-Corruption, etc.)

The Allahabad High Court is a well-organized judicial institution with a clear hierarchical structure to manage its vast jurisdiction in Uttar Pradesh. It ensures efficient justice delivery through its Chief Justice, judges, registrars, judicial officers, and administrative staff.

Read More: Latest News and Judgements From Delhi High Court

Appointment of Judges

• The President appoints Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI).
• The CJI is required to consult with two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
• The President appoints the other Judges to the Allahabad High Court (excluding the Chief Justice) by warrant under his hand and seal.
• The procedure involves consulting with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and following the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court.
• Additionally, there is an obligation upon CJI to seek input from the two most senior judges in the Supreme Court, while the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court must also consult with their two most senior associate judges when suggesting a candidate for a High Court appointment.

List of chief justices

					S. N.	Chief Justice		Term start	Term end	Governor (oathed by)
						English	Hindi
					1	Walter Morgan	वाल्टेर मॉर्गन	1866	1871
					2	Robert Stuart	रॉबर्ट स्टुअर्ट	1871	1884
					3	William Comer Petheram	विलियम कॉमर पैथराम	1884	1886
					4	John Edge	जॉन एज	1886	1898
					5	Louis Addin Kershaw	लुइस एडिन केर्शौ	1898
					6	Arthur Strachey	आर्थर स्ट्राचे	1898	1901
					7	John Stanley	जॉन स्टानले	1901	1911
					8	Henry George Richards	हेनरी जॉर्ज रिचर्ड्स	1911	1919
					9	Edward Grimwood Mears	एडवर्ड ग्रिमवुड मेयर्स	1919	1932
					10	Shah Muhammad Sulaiman	शाह मुहम्मद सुलेमान	1932	1937
					11	John Gibb Thom	जॉन गिब थॉम	1937	1941
					12	Iqbal Ahmad	इक़बाल अहमद	1941	1946
					13	Kamala Kanta Verma	कमल कांत वर्मा	1946	1947
					After Independence
					14	Bidhu Bhushan Malik	बिधु भूषण मलिक	1947	1955	Sarojini Naidu
					15	O.H. Mootham	ओ. एच. मूथाम	1955	1961	Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
					16	Manulal Chunilal Desai	मनुलाल चुन्नीलाल देसाई	1961	1966	Burgula Ramakrishna Rao
					17	Vashishtha Bhargava	वशिष्ठ भार्गव	25 February 1966	7 August 1966	Bishwanath Das
					18	Nasirullah Beg	नसरुल्लाह बेग	1966	1967
					19	Vidyadhar Govind Oak	विद्याधर गोविन्द ओक	1967	1971	Bezawada Gopala Reddy
					20	Shashi Kanta Verma	शशि कांत वर्मा	1971	1973
					21	Dhatri Saran Mathur	धातृ शरण माथुर	1973	1974	Akbar Ali Khan
					22	Kunwar Bahadur Asthana	कुंवर बहादुर अस्थाना	1974	1977	Marri Chenna Reddy
					23	D. M. Chandrashekhar	डी. एम्. चंद्रशेखर	1977	1978	Ganpatrao Devji Tapase
					24	Satish Chandra	सतीश चंद्र	1978	1983
					25	Mahesh Narain Shukla	महेश नारायण शुक्ल	1983	1985	Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh
					26	Hriday Nath Seth	ह्रदय नाथ सेठ	1986		Mohammed Usman Arif
					27	Kalmanje Jagannatha Shetty	कलमञ्जे जगन्नाथ शेट्टी	1986	1987
					28	Dwarka Nath Jha	द्वारका नाथ झा	1987
					29	Amitav Banerji	अमिताव बनर्जी	1987	1988
					30	Brahma Nath Katju	ब्रह्म नाथ काटजू	1988	1989
					31	B. P. Jeevan Reddy	बी. पी. जीवन रेड्डी	1990	1991	B. Satya Narayan Reddy
					32	Manoj Kumar Mukherjee	मनोज कुमार मुख़र्जी	1991	1993
					33	S. S. Sodhi	एस. एस. लोधी	1994	1995	Motilal Vora
					34	A. Lakshman Rao	ए. लक्ष्मण राव	1995	1996
					35	D. P. Mohapatra	डी. पी. महापात्र	1996	1998
					36	N. K. Mitra	एन. के. मित्रा	1999	2000	Suraj Bhan
					37	Shyamal Kumar Sen	श्यामल कुमार सेन	8 May 2000	24 November 2002
					38	Tarun Chatterjee	तरुण चटर्जी	31 January 2003	26 August 2004	Vishnu Kant Shastri
					39	Ajoy Nath Ray	अजय नाथ रे	11 January 2005	26 January 2007	T. V. Rajeswar
					40	Hemant Laxman Gokhale	हेमंत लक्ष्मण गोखले	7 March 2007	8 March 2009
					41	Chandramauli Kumar Prasad	चंद्रमौली कुमार प्रसाद	20 March 2009	7 February 2010
					42	Ferdino Rebello	फ़र्डिनो रेबेल्लो	26 June 2010	30 July 2011	Banwari Lal Joshi
					43	Syed Rafat Alam	सय्यद रफात आलम	4 August 2011	8 August 2012
					44	Shiva Kirti Singh	शिवा कीर्ति सिंह	17 October 2012	18 September 2013
					45	Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud	धनञ्जय यशवंत चंद्रचूड़	31 October 2013	12 May 2016
					46	Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale[4]	दिलीप बाबासाहेब भोसले	30 July 2016	23 October 2018	Ram Naik
					47	Govind Mathur	गोविन्द माथुर	14 November 2018	13 April 2021
					48	Sanjay Yadav	संजय यादव	14 April 2021	26 June 2021	Anandiben Patel
					49	Rajesh Bindal	राजेश बिंदल	11 October 2021	12 February 2023
					50	Pritinker Diwaker	प्रीतिंकर दिवाकर	26 March 2023	21 November 2023
					51	Arun Bhansali	अरुण भंसाली	5 February 2024	Incumbent

 

Jurisdiction

Original & Writ Jurisdiction:

• In its original jurisdiction, it deals with matters involving significant public interest, constitutional issues, and matters of importance.
• The High Court also has the authority to issue writs under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, 1950, which empowers it to protect fundamental rights and issue orders or Directions to any person or authority within its jurisdiction.

Appellate Jurisdiction:

• The High Court also functions as an appellate court, hearing appeals from lower courts within its territorial jurisdiction.
• This includes appeals from subordinate civil and criminal courts.

Civil Jurisdiction:

• The Allahabad High Court handles civil cases, including but not limited to property disputes, contract disputes, family matters, writ petitions, and public interest litigations (PILs).

Criminal Jurisdiction:

• The High Court has jurisdiction over criminal cases, including appeals against convictions and sentences from lower criminal courts.
• It may also deal with matters related to bail, anticipatory bail, and other criminal proceedings.

Supervisory Jurisdiction:

• The High Court exercises supervisory jurisdiction over lower courts within its territorial jurisdiction.
• It can issue orders and directions to ensure that the lower courts function within the bounds of law.

Taxation Jurisdiction:

• The Allahabad High Court may also have jurisdiction in taxation matters, including cases related to income tax, sales tax, and other tax disputes.

Read More: Latest News and Judgements From Madras High Court

Reporting of Cases in Allahabad High Court

• Allahabad Criminal Cases
• Allahabad Civil Journal
• Allahabad Daily Judgements
• Allahabad Law Journal
• Allahabad Rent Cases
• Allahabad Weekly Cases
• Judicial Interpretation on Crimes (JIC)
• Lucknow Civil Decisions (LCD)
• Revenue Decisions
• U.P. Local Bodies and Education Cases