Supreme Court Awakens Constitutional Conscience, Summons Allahabad HC Registrar Over Criminal Appeal Delays
(By Syed Ali Taher Abedi)
Delhi, 14, October, 2025- The Supreme Court of India has issued a directive for the Registrar Judicial (Listing) of the Allahabad High Court to appear in person before the Court on October 16, 2025, to provide an authoritative explanation regarding the procedure for listing criminal appeals. This judicial intervention underscores the apex court’s growing concern over the significant backlog in criminal appeals pending before the Allahabad High Court.
Presently, as per records submitted to the Supreme Court, a staggering total of 2,297 criminal appeals involve persons incarcerated for over ten years, while 52 appeals pertain to individuals who have been under incarceration for more than 15 years. The prolonged pendency and consequential incarceration have raised serious questions of justice and procedural efficacy, prompting the Supreme Court to seek detailed clarifications on the matter.
“We find that the same elusive of the steps taken for listing 2036+261 (total 2297) appeals in which the accused has been suffering incarceration for a period of more than ten years – there is no working plan in place; in fact, we find that there are at least 12+3+5+11+8+13(total 52) pending cases in which the accused has been suffering from incarceration for a period of more than fifteen years.”
Earlier, the Supreme Court had called upon the Allahabad High Court to devise and implement an effective plan to address the listing and timely hearing of these pending appeals. However, the Court observed with concern that the report filed by the Registrar was conspicuously silent on the crucial aspect of case listing procedures.
The present matter has deeper judicial implications originating from a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed before the Supreme Court by a petitioner-cum-convict. The petitioner challenged the Allahabad High Court’s 2010 order rejecting his bail application under Section 389 of the Criminal Procedure Code, which was preferred while his appeal was still pending. Notably, the petitioner’s appeal has not been listed for hearing since 2010, resulting in an incarceration period exceeding 21 years.
“The instant Special Leave Petition has been preferred. By the petitioner against the Impugned order dated26.07.2010 seeking regular bail in Criminal Appeal No.212 of 2010 titled as “Chhatra Pal Vs. State of U.P.”.
The Criminal Appeal filed by the petitioner before the Hon’ble High Court against the judgment and order dated 13.10.2009 passed by Additional Session Judge, Unnao in Session Trial No.181 of 2005 (arising out of case Crime No.1022 of 2004 under section 396, 412 IPC police station Kotwali, District Unnao) wherein the accused namely Kallu alias Raj Kumar, Mannilal, Chatra Pal, Khushi Ram have been convicted under section 396 IPC and sentenced for maximum term of life imprisonment with fine stipulation by the Additional Sessions Judge, Unnao.”
On September 8, 2025, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court, directing the submission of a comprehensive report on the status of pending criminal appeals. Additionally, the Court ordered the Registrar to furnish the information in a detailed tabular format, categorizing the appeals by the period of incarceration of the accused.
“The Report is conspicuously silent about the plan for effectively listing these appeals. It could have been easily indicated, (a) the number of benches constituted and hearing such appeals; (b) whether service upon the parties is complete or not; (c) whether the paper books were ready for hearing of the appeals; and (d) the difficulties faced in listing these appeals for hearing, with specific reasons assigned therefor.”
In light of these developments, the Supreme Court’s instruction for the Registrar Judicial to personally appear and apprise the bench about the listing procedures reflects the apex court’s determination to ensure judicial accountability and expedite the disposal of long-pending appeals impacting fundamental rights. This exhortation serves as both a procedural safeguard and a reminder of the imperative of upholding the principles of timely justice within the criminal justice framework.
The petitioner was represented by Advocates Dr. Sofiya Begum, Sr.Adv. Mr. Tabrez Ahmed, Adv. Mr. Syed Medhi Imam, AOR Mr. Komal Jadaon, Adv. Mr. Pushpa Kishore.
The Respondents were represented by Adv. Mr Shaurya Sahay, AOR Mr. Aman Jaiswal, Advt. Ms. Palak Mathur, Adv. Mr. Tanmaya Agarwal, AOR Mr. Wrick Chatterjee, Adv. Mrs. Aditi Agarwal
