ASOK PANDE Vs. ALLAHABAD HIGH COURT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY an order of a Division Bench dated 17 February 2014, a direction was issued to the Registry to place the writ petition before the Chief Justice for the exercise of discretion under Clause 14 of the United Provinces High Courts (Amalgamation) Order, 1948. The genesis of the petition is explained by the two petitioners, who appeared in person, in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 of the writ petition, the relevant portion of which is extracted herein below: - -

(2.) THE petitioners have sought (i) a writ of certiorari cancelling the order of the Chief Justice by which a learned Judge of this Court is to sit at the principal seat of the High Court at Allahabad instead of the Lucknow Bench; (ii) a mandamus that an open and transparent enquiry be conducted; and (iii) a mandamus to frame a transparent grievance redressal mechanism where every advocate, litigant and citizen can register his formal complaint against Judges of this Court or against Judges or Magistrates of any other subordinate Courts under the administrative jurisdiction of the High Court so that each complaint is enquired into and the enquiry report is made public to the extent permissible under law.

(3.) THE Division Bench observed that the first petitioner is a lawyer practicing primarily at the Lucknow Bench, while the second petitioner has stated that she has been filing a large number of public interest litigations before this Court. Bearing this in mind and taking into account the allegations contained in paragraph 33 of the writ petition to the effect that the petitioners were individually subjected to misbehavior by some of the Judges of this Court, the Division Bench directed that the papers and proceedings of this case be placed before the Chief Justice for exercising his jurisdiction under Clause 14 of the Amalgamation Order, 1948.