The Allahabad High Court has directed the concerned judicial officer to appear online and provide an explanation after flaws were detected in the order sheet issued by the district court. A single-judge bench comprising Justice Tej Pratap Tiwari issued this order in response to a petition filed by Chandradev Shukla.
A case was registered against Chandradev at the Nawabganj police station under serious sections of the law, including charges of causing injury and issuing threats. In his petition, Chandradev sought an expeditious hearing of the criminal trial that has been pending before the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Prayagraj, since 2018.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that there were no entries recorded in the case’s order sheet between April 29, 2021, and August 9, 2021. The Court observed that whether the Presiding Officer is on leave, undergoing training, or the court remains vacant, the officer-in-charge is duty-bound to take appropriate action in such situations. Consequently, the Court has called upon the concerned Presiding Officer to clarify this lapse.
The Court further noted that the matter has been taken up for hearing only three or four times throughout the year. It appears that the concerned court is overburdened with a heavy caseload; if this is indeed the case, the Presiding Officer has been directed to address this issue as well in their response. Additionally, the Court pointed out that the order passed on February 17, 2026, pertained to only a single case. Terming this order as both inadequate and ambiguous, the Court remarked that such a cursory order was not expected from a senior judicial officer. The matter is scheduled to be heard on April 10.
