CASE NAME- RAMDULAR SINGH V. STATE OF U.P. & Anr.

On Monday, December 2, the Supreme Court was taken aback by a case in which a bench of the Allahabad High Court opted to list the case before another bench rather than provide a decision after delaying its decision for fourteen months. Before returning the case to the High Court with an order to make a decision as soon as possible, a bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Sandeep Mehta allowed the litigant temporary respite.

We are unsure of the precise reason why the learned judge of the High Court was unable to deliver the judgment and decide the petition in any form, even after 14 (fourteen) months had passed after the judgment was reserved. In any case, the top court stated, “We ask the High Court’s roster bench to resolve the petition in line with the law as soon as possible, preferably within three months,” without adding any more remarks on the issue of holding a reserved judgment pending for 14 (fourteen) months and then failing to deliver it.

Ramdular Singh, the petitioner, had petitioned the Allahabad High Court to contest criminal charges brought against him in a civil dispute. On March 28, 2023, the High Court postponed rendering a decision in the case. However, Singh was not given any temporary relief in the interim. The High Court de-reserved its ruling and sent the case to a different Bench on May 27, 2024, fourteen months later. Singh, who was upset by this ruling, petitioned the Supreme Court for redress.

Ramdular’s attorney said that the criminal proceedings against his client had progressed to the point where criminal charges were being framed, as the High Court had not issued any stay orders. The Supreme Court was so informed that his client’s plea before the High Court was essentially losing its meaning. After taking these arguments into account, the Supreme Court granted Singh temporary relief and requested that the Allahabad High Court address his plea as soon as possible.

“Procedures before the trial court, i.e., the court of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-IV, Varanasi, in Case No. 330 of 2019, shall be stayed until the High Court considers the matter next.” As an interim measure for Ramdular Singh, the Court further stated that the petitioner would be free to request an extension of the stay order until the petition was decided on its merits.