Sitaram Mishra Vs Civil Judge (Junior Division )… — Writ and Judicial Review | Allahabad HC (2025)

Sitaram Mishra Vs Civil Judge (Junior Division )… — Writ and Judicial Review | Allahabad HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Direction issued to the learned court below to decide Regular Suit No.945 of 2018 on priority basis, expeditiously and within reasonable time, keeping in view the petitioner's old age, the period of pendency and the Court's earlier directions, without granting adjournments to either side on inefficient ground.

Issue for consideration

Whether the High Court, under Article 227, should direct the Civil Judge (Junior Division), Gonda, to expedite the time-bound disposal of Regular Suit No.945 of 2018 (Kaushal Kishore Mishra vs. Sitaram Mishra), pending since 2018, given the petitioner's advanced age and lack of progress despite a prior order and a subsequent expedite-application.

Court's answer

In view of the limited prayer, the suit's pendency since 2018 without substantial progress, the petitioner's old age and the earlier directions of this Court, the learned court below is directed to make every effort to decide the suit on priority basis, expeditiously and within reasonable time, without granting adjournment to either side on inefficient ground.

Ratio / Principle

With the above direction having been issued, the petition itself stands disposed of; no substantive adjudication of the underlying suit occurs in this writ jurisdiction exercise.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Judicature at Allahabad (Lucknow Bench), Court No. 19 — Matters Under Article 227 No. 6721 of 2025 — Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra, J. — November 17, 2025. Sitaram Mishra, petitioner (defendant no.1 in the underlying suit, around 80 years of age, a senior citizen), sought an Article 227 direction to the Civil Judge (Junior Division), Gonda, for time-bound disposal of Regular Suit No.945 of 2018, Kaushal Kishore Mishra vs. Sitaram Mishra — a partition suit pending since 2018 in which defendant no.2, Dinesh Kumar Mishra, has expired and his legal representatives were substituted. An earlier petition had been disposed of by order dated 16.11.2021 in Misc. Single No.22084 of 2021, wherein the prayer for expeditious hearing was declined but liberty was granted to apply before the trial court; the petitioner applied on 14.12.2021, yet no substantial progress followed. Holding: directing the learned court below to make every effort to decide the suit on priority basis, expeditiously and within reasonable time, keeping in view the petitioner's old age, the period of pendency and the earlier directions, without granting adjournments to either side on inefficient ground. Outcome: petition disposed of with the said direction.

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD LUCKNOW

MATTERS UNDER ARTICLE 227 No. - 6721 of 2025

Sitaram Mishra

.....Petitioner(s)

Versus

Civil Judge (Junior Division ) Gonda And 2 Others

.....Respondent(s) Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Viksit Srivastava, Yojana Srivastava Counsel for Respondent(s) :

Court No. - 19

HON'BLE RAM MANOHAR NARAYAN MISHRA, J.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and perused the record.

The present writ petition under Article 227 of the Constitution of India has been filed by the petitioner with a prayer to issue necessary direction to the Civil Judge (Junior Division), Gonda, to expedite the disposal of Regular Suit No.945 of 2018, Kaushal Kishore Mishra vs. Sitaram Mishra, in time bound manner, which is pending before the opposite party no.1.

Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the suit was filed in the year 2018 for partition by the respondent no.2, defendant no.2, namely, Dinesh Kumar Mishra, has expired, and his legal representatives have already been brought on record. The defendant no.1, petitioner is around 80 years of age and he is a Senior citizen he has prayed that his suit to be decided on priority basis as per legal guidelines issued from time to time. He also submitted that earlier another petition filed by the petitioner was disposed of vide order dated 16.11.2021 passed by this Court in Misc. Single No.22084 of 2021 where a prayer for issuing direction for expeditious hearing of the case was turned down but the petitioner was granted liberty to move appropriate application before the court concerned for expediting the hearing of the suit. In case, such an application is moved, the court concerned shall pass an appropriate order on the same within reasonable time after considering the stage of the present suit as also the age of the petitioner.

A227 No. 6721 of 2025

2

He has next submitted that in pursuant to order dated 16.11.2021 passed by this Court, the petitioner has filed an application before the court below on 14.12.2021 for expeditious disposal of suit on merits but still then no efforts were made regarding disposal of the suit which required filing of the present petition.

Keeping in view the limited prayer made in the present petition, and the facts that suit is pending before the court below since 2018 and no substantial progress appears to be made on disposal of the issue, therefore, it is directed that learned court below shall make endeavour to decide the suit on priority basis keeping in view the old age of the petitioner and period of pendency of the suit and the directions made earlier by this Court as stated above. Learned court below shall make every efforts to decide the suit expeditiously and within reasonable time, without granting adjournment to either side an inefficient ground.

The petition is disposed of with the above direction.

(Ram Manohar Narayan Mishra,J.)

November 17, 2025 KR

Digitally signed by :- RABINDRA KUMAR High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench