Allahabad High Court

Allahabad High Court
High Court building in Allahabad
Interactive map of Allahabad High Court
25°27′11″N 81°49′14″E / 25.45306°N 81.82056°E / 25.45306; 81.82056
Established17 March 1866 (in Agra)
1869 (in Allahabad)
JurisdictionUttar Pradesh
LocationPrincipal Seat: Prayagraj
Permanent Bench: Lucknow
Coordinates25°27′11″N 81°49′14″E / 25.45306°N 81.82056°E / 25.45306; 81.82056
Composition methodPresidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of respective state.
Authorised byConstitution of India
Judge term lengthmandatory retirement by age of 62
Number of positions160 (permanent 76; additional 84)
Websiteallahabadhighcourt.in
Chief Justice
CurrentlyArun Bhansali
Since5 February 2024

Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly and colloquially known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established on 17 March 1866, making it one of the oldest high courts to be established in India.

History

Allahabad became the seat of Government of North-Western Provinces and a High Court was established in 1834 but was shifted to Agra within a year.[1] In 1875 it shifted back to Allahabad.[2][3] The former High Court was located at the Accountant General's office at the University of Allahabad complex.[3]

It was founded as the High Court of Judicature for the North-Western Provinces at Agra on 17 March 1866 by the Indian High Courts Act 1861 replacing the old Sadr Diwani Adalat. Sir Walter Morgan, Barrister-at-Law and Mr. Simpson were appointed the first Chief Justice and the first Registrar respectively of the High Court of North-Western Provinces.

The location of the High Court for the North-Western Provinces was moved from Agra to Allahabad in 1875 and the name was correspondingly changed to the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad from 11 March 1919.

On 2 November 1925, the Oudh Judicial Commissioner's Court was replaced by the Oudh Chief Court at Lucknow by the Oudh Civil Courts Act of 1925, enacted by the United Provinces Legislature with the previous sanction of the Governor General and the passing of this Act.

On 25 February 1948, the Chief Court of Oudh was amalgamated with the High Court of Allahabad.

Until 2000, what is now called Uttarakhand was part of Uttar Pradesh, and was therefore subject to the jurisdiction of Allahabad High Court. When the new state was created, Allahabad High Court ceased to have jurisdiction over the districts in it. The Uttarakhand High Court was established on 9 November 2000 with jurisdiction over the new state.

Principal seat and benches

The seat of the court is at Prayagraj. Allahabad High Court maintains a permanent circuit bench at Lucknow, the administrative capital of the state. The maximum number of serving judges is 160, the highest in India.

Location Type Status No. of Sitting Judges
Prayagraj Principal seat Active 81
Lucknow Bench Active 28

Chief Justices

Justice Arun Bhansali is the current Chief Justice of the High Court.

List of chief justices

# Chief Justice Term start Term end Governor (oathed by)
English Hindi
1 Walter Morgan वाल्टेर मॉर्गन 1866 1871
2 Robert Stuart रॉबर्ट स्टुअर्ट 1871 1884
3 William Comer Petheram विलियम कॉमर पैथराम 1884 1886
4 John Edge जॉन एज 1886 1898
5 Louis Addin Kershaw लुइस एडिन केर्शौ 1898
6 Arthur Strachey आर्थर स्ट्राचे 1898 1901
7 John Stanley जॉन स्टानले 1901 1911
8 Henry George Richards हेनरी जॉर्ज रिचर्ड्स 1911 1919
9 Edward Grimwood Mears एडवर्ड ग्रिमवुड मेयर्स 1919 1932
10 Shah Muhammad Sulaiman शाह मुहम्मद सुलेमान 1932 1937
11 John Gibb Thom जॉन गिब थॉम 1937 1941
12 Iqbal Ahmad इक़बाल अहमद 1941 1946
13 Kamala Kanta Verma कमल कांत वर्मा 1946 1947
After Independence
14 Bidhu Bhushan Malik बिधु भूषण मलिक 1947 1955 Sarojini Naidu
15 O.H. Mootham ओ. एच. मूथाम 1955 1961 Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi
16 Manulal Chunilal Desai मनुलाल चुन्नीलाल देसाई 1961 1966 Burgula Ramakrishna Rao
17 Vashishtha Bhargava वशिष्ठ भार्गव 25 February 1966 7 August 1966 Bishwanath Das
18 Nasirullah Beg नसरुल्लाह बेग 1966 1967
19 Vidyadhar Govind Oak विद्याधर गोविन्द ओक 1967 1971 Bezawada Gopala Reddy
20 Shashi Kanta Verma शशि कांत वर्मा 1971 1973
21 Dhatri Saran Mathur धातृ शरण माथुर 1973 1974 Akbar Ali Khan
22 Kunwar Bahadur Asthana कुंवर बहादुर अस्थाना 1974 1977 Marri Chenna Reddy
23 D. M. Chandrashekhar डी. एम्. चंद्रशेखर 1977 1978 Ganpatrao Devji Tapase
24 Satish Chandra सतीश चंद्र 1978 1983
25 Mahesh Narain Shukla महेश नारायण शुक्ल 1983 1985 Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh
26 Hriday Nath Seth ह्रदय नाथ सेठ 1986 Mohammed Usman Arif
27 Kalmanje Jagannatha Shetty कलमञ्जे जगन्नाथ शेट्टी 1986 1987
28 Dwarka Nath Jha द्वारका नाथ झा 1987
29 Amitav Banerji अमिताव बनर्जी 1987 1988
30 Brahma Nath Katju ब्रह्म नाथ काटजू 1988 1989
31 B. P. Jeevan Reddy बी. पी. जीवन रेड्डी 1990 1991 B. Satya Narayan Reddy
32 Manoj Kumar Mukherjee मनोज कुमार मुख़र्जी 1991 1993
33 S. S. Sodhi एस. एस. लोधी 1994 1995 Motilal Vora
34 A. Lakshman Rao ए. लक्ष्मण राव 1995 1996
35 D. P. Mohapatra डी. पी. महापात्र 1996 1998
36 N. K. Mitra एन. के. मित्रा 1999 2000 Suraj Bhan
37 Shyamal Kumar Sen श्यामल कुमार सेन 8 May 2000 24 November 2002
38 Tarun Chatterjee तरुण चटर्जी 31 January 2003 26 August 2004 Vishnu Kant Shastri
39 Ajoy Nath Ray अजय नाथ रे 11 January 2005 26 January 2007 T. V. Rajeswar
40 Hemant Laxman Gokhale हेमंत लक्ष्मण गोखले 7 March 2007 8 March 2009
41 Chandramauli Kumar Prasad चंद्रमौली कुमार प्रसाद 20 March 2009 7 February 2010
42 Ferdino Rebello फ़र्डिनो रेबेल्लो 26 June 2010 30 July 2011 Banwari Lal Joshi
43 Syed Rafat Alam सय्यद रफात आलम 4 August 2011 8 August 2012
44 Shiva Kirti Singh शिवा कीर्ति सिंह 17 October 2012 18 September 2013
45 Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud धनञ्जय यशवंत चंद्रचूड़ 31 October 2013 12 May 2016
46 Dilip Babasaheb Bhosale[4] दिलीप बाबासाहेब भोसले 30 July 2016 23 October 2018 Ram Naik
47 Govind Mathur गोविन्द माथुर 14 November 2018 13 April 2021
48 Sanjay Yadav संजय यादव 14 April 2021 26 June 2021 Anandiben Patel
49 Rajesh Bindal राजेश बिंदल 11 October 2021 12 February 2023
50 Pritinker Diwaker प्रीतिंकर दिवाकर 26 March 2023 21 November 2023
51 Arun Bhansali अरुण भंसाली 5 February 2024 Incumbent

Meerut High Court Bench Demand

Residents of Western Uttar Pradesh have also been long demanding a high court bench in Meerut. Almost 54% of all cases reaching the High Court originate from the 22 districts of Western UP, still, western Uttar Pradesh does not have a High Court bench.[5] Eight other High Courts are closer to litigants of West Uttar Pradesh than their own High Court in Prayagraj; these High Courts are:

  • High Court at Delhi
  • High Court at Shimla
  • High Court at Chandigarh
  • High Court at Nainital
  • High Court at Jammu
  • High Court Jaipur
  • High Court Gwalior

Even Lahore High Court is closer to western Uttar Pradesh than Allahabad High Court.[6][7]

Highest Number of Pending Cases

Uttar Pradesh has at least 9 times more pending cases than any other state.

Allahabad High Court as of 2022, has 9.33 lakh cases pending in the fast-track courts of Uttar Pradesh, followed by over 1.04 lakh cases in Maharashtra, 1.02 lakh cases in Tamil Nadu, 71,260 cases in West Bengal and 12,538 cases in Telangana.

A bench at Meerut is needed as a lot of corporate and capital investments in Noida, have gone to other states due to more readily accessibility of justice in corporate affairs.

The decision by Foxconn and Winston to choose Tamil Nadu and Karnataka as their manufacturing hub has been attributed by experts for this very same reason.

If Uttar Pradesh wants to attract investments then it is recommended by the NCR planning committee to work on setting up a High Court bench in Meerut with utmost priority.[8]

Chief Justice and judges

The court has a Sanctioned strength of 160 (120 permanent, 40 additional) judges.

Sitting Judges of Allahabad High Court

See also: List of sitting judges of High Courts of India § Allahabad High Court

Reporting and citation

Journals that report Allahabad High Court Judgements include

  1. Allahabad Criminal Cases,
  2. Allahabad Law Journal
  3. Allahabad Law Reports
  4. Allahabad Daily Judgement
  5. Allahabad Civil Journal
  6. Allahabad Weekly Cases
  7. Allahabad Rent Cases
  8. Accidents Claims Journal
  9. Allahabad Criminal Rulings
  10. Criminal Law Journal
  11. Motor Accident Claims
  12. Revenue Decisions
  13. U.P. Local Bodies and Education Cases
  14. Lucknow Civil Decisions (LCD)
  15. All India Judicial Interpretation on Crimes

High Court Service

The Registry at High Court of Judicature at Allahabad is broadly divided into five Cadres:

  • General office Cadre (Registrar Cadre)

An officer enters this cadre in the rank of Review Officer/Asst. Review Officer/Computer Assistant after passing a competitive exam and rises up through successive promotions on S.O./Asst./Deputy/Joint Registrar to reach the post of Registrar.

  • Bench Secretary Cadre
  • Private Secretary Cadre
  • Computer Cadre
  • Library Cadre

Some other cadres/posts at High Court of Judicature at Allahabad are -

  • Chief Documentation Officer cum Chief Librarian (currently held by Sri. Amitabh Saran)
  • Physiotherapist
  • Court Manager

Commemorative postal stamps

Commemorative stamps released by India Post -

1966
2016
2016

Judges elevated as Chief Justice

This sections contains list of only those judges elevated as chief justices whose parent high court is Allahabad. This includes those judges who, at the time of appointment as chief justice, may not be serving in Allahabad High Court but this list does not include judges who at the time of appointment as chief justice were serving in Allahabad High Court but does not have Allahabad as their Parent High Court.

Name Image Appointed as Chief Justice in HC of Date of appointment Date of retirement[a] Tenure Transferred as CJ to HC of Ref..
As Judge As Chief Justice As Chief Justice As Judge[b]
Charles Arthur Turner Madras 1866 3 March 1879 1885 -- [9]
Henry George Richards Allahabad 1905 21 April 1911 1919 --
Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier Patna 1910 1 March 1916 30 October 1917 1 year, 244 days --
Shah Muhammad Sulaiman Allahabad 1923 16 March 1932 30 September 1937[†][c] 5 years, 199 days --
John Douglas Young Lahore 1929 1934 1943 --
Iqbal Ahmad Allahabad 1933 21 July 1941 16 September 1946 5 years, 58 days --
Arthur Trevor Harries Patna 1934 10 October 1938 12 June 1952 13 years, 247 days Lahore then to Calcutta
Ganga Nath Jammu & Kashmir 1937 24 June 1942 23 October 1945 3 years, 122 days --
Kamalkanta Verma Allahabad 1937 1946 24 January 1950 Rajasthan
Orby Howell Mootham Allahabad 22 July 1946 12 January 1955 16 February 1961 6 years, 36 days 14 years, 210 days --
Kailas Nath Wanchoo Rajasthan 17 February 1947 2 January 1951 10 August 1958[†] 7 years, 221 days 11 years, 175 days --
Manulal Chunilal Desai Allahabad 13 December 1948 17 February 1961 24 February 1966 5 years, 8 days 17 years, 74 days --
Vashishtha Bhargava Allahabad 1 August 1949 25 February 1966 7 August 1966[†] 164 days 17 years, 7 days --
Mirza Nasirullah Beg Allahabad 1 June 1951 24 September 1966 3 June 1967 253 days 16 years, 3 days --
Gopalji Mehrotra Gauhati 6 May 1954 30 June 1961 6 February 1967 5 years, 222 days 12 years, 277 days --
Vidyadhar Govind Oak Allahabad 31 March 1955 4 June 1967 18 May 1971 3 years, 349 days 16 years, 49 days --
Bishambhar Dayal Madhya Pradesh 6 May 1957 19 March 1969 13 September 1972 3 years, 179 days 15 years, 131 days -- [10]
Shashi Kanta Verma Allahabad 30 June 1958 19 May 1971 5 November 1973 2 years, 171 days 15 years, 129 days -- [9]
Dhatri Saran Mathur Allahabad 15 January 1959 6 November 1973 13 November 1974 1 year, 8 days 15 years, 303 days --
Kunwar Bahadur Asthana Allahabad 22 August 1961 13 November 1974 9 May 1977 2 years, 178 days 15 years, 261 days --
Raghunandan Swarup Pathak Himachal Pradesh 1 October 1962 18 March 1972 19 February 1978[†] 5 years, 339 days 15 years, 142 days --
Mirza Hameedullah Beg Himachal Pradesh 11 June 1963 25 January 1971 9 December 1971[†] 319 days 8 years, 182 days --
Satish Chandra Allahabad 7 October 1963 22 March 1978 1 September 1986 8 years, 164 days 22 years, 330 days Calcutta
Mahesh Narain Shukla Allahabad 14 March 1969 12 April 1985 5 October 1985 177 days 16 years, 206 days --
Hridai Narain Seth Allahabad 7 July 1969 6 October 1985 14 October 1987 2 years, 9 days 18 years, 100 days Punjab & Haryana
Tribeni Sahai Misra Gauhati 3 September 1971 12 August 1983 14 November 1984 1 year, 95 days 13 years, 73 days -- [11]
Narayan Dutt Ojha Madhya Pradesh 3 September 1971 8 January 1987 18 January 1988[†] 1 year, 11 days 16 years, 139 days -- [10]
Dwarka Nath Jha Allahabad 6 August 1973 14 July 1987 15 July 1987 2 days 13 years, 344 days -- [9]
Amitav Banerji Allahabad 6 August 1973 26 April 1988 6 November 1988 195 days 15 years, 93 days --
Brahma Nath Katju Allahabad 6 August 1973 7 November 1988 22 May 1989 197 days 15 years, 290 days --
Krishna Chandra Agarwal Rajasthan 6 August 1973 15 April 1990 15 January 1996 5 years, 276 days 22 years, 163 days Calcutta
Sudarshan Dayal Aggarwal Punjab & Haryana 17 November 1977 13 November 1992 14 January 1994 1 year, 63 days 16 years, 59 days --
Satish Chandra Mathur Jammu & Kashmir 30 March 1978 10 October 1993 17 March 1994 159 days 15 years, 353 days --
Viney Krishna Khanna Gauhati 2 July 1979 24 April 1994 14 February 1997 2 years, 297 days 17 years, 228 days --
Braja Nath Misra Sikkim 5 January 1981 20 January 1990 8 November 1992 2 years, 294 days 11 years, 309 days --
Saiyed Sagir Ahmed Jammu & Kashmir 2 November 1981 18 March 1994 5 March 1995[†] 353 days 13 years, 124 days Andhra Pradesh
Vishweshwar Nath Khare Calcutta 25 June 1983 2 February 1996 20 March 1997[†] 1 year, 47 days 13 years, 269 days --
Ajay Prakash Misra Delhi 24 May 1984 26 June 1997 3 December 1997[†] 161 days 13 years, 194 days --
Om Prakash Verma Kerala 24 May 1984 20 December 1997 19 March 1999 1 year, 90 days 14 years, 300 days --
Brijesh Kumar Gauhati 24 May 1984 12 February 1999 18 October 2000[†] 1 year, 250 days 16 years, 148 days --
Ravi Swaroop Dhavan Patna 9 January 1986 25 January 2000 22 July 2004 4 years, 180 days 18 years, 196 days --
Daya Saran Sinha Gujarat 17 March 1986 17 March 2002 17 March 2003 1 year, 1 day 17 years, 1 day --
  1. ^ this inlcudes date of resignation, death and Elevation to supreme court
  2. ^ also includes tenure as Chief Justice
  3. ^ Then Federal Court of India

Judges elevated to Supreme Court

Currently serving

# Name of the Judge Image Date of Appointment Date of Retirement Tenure Immediately preceding office
In Parent High Court In Supreme Court In High Court(s) In Supreme Court Total tenure[a]
1 Vikram Nath 24 September 2004 31 August 2021 23 September 2027 16 years, 340 days 6 years, 24 days 23 years, 0 days 25th CJ of Gujarat HC
2 Pankaj Mithal 7 July 2006 6 February 2023 16 June 2026 16 years, 213 days 3 years, 131 days 19 years, 345 days 40th CJ of Rajasthan HC
3 Manoj Misra 21 November 2011 6 February 2023 1 June 2030 11 years, 76 days 7 years, 116 days 18 years, 193 days Judge of Allahabad HC

Former judges

# Name of the Judge Image Date of Appointment Date of Retirement Tenure Immediately preceding office Remarks
In Parent High Court In Supreme Court In High Court(s) In Supreme Court Total tenure[a]
1 Ghulam Hasan 25 July 1948 8 September 1952 5 November 1954 2 years, 344 days 2 years, 59 days 5 years, 38 days Elevated after retirement as HC judge on 3 July 1951 Died in office
2 Kailas Nath Wanchoo 17 February 1947 11 August 1958 24 February 1968 11 years, 175 days 9 years, 198 days 21 years, 8 days 2nd CJ of Rajasthan HC 10th Chief Justice of India
3 Raghubar Dayal 22 July 1946 27 July 1960 25 October 1965 14 years, 5 days 5 years, 91 days 19 years, 96 days Judge of Allahabad HC
4 Vashishtha Bhargava 1 August 1949 8 August 1966 4 February 1971 17 years, 7 days 4 years, 181 days 21 years, 188 days 17th CJ of Allahabad HC
5 Mirza Hameedullah Beg 11 June 1963 10 December 1971 21 February 1978 8 years, 182 days 6 years, 74 days 14 years, 256 days 1st CJ of Himachal Pradesh HC 15th Chief Justice of India
6 Surendra Narayan Dwivedi 12 May 1959 14 August 1972 8 December 1974 13 years, 94 days 2 years, 117 days 15 years, 211 days Judge of Allahabad HC Died in office
7 Raghunandan Swarup Pathak 1 October 1962 20 February 1978 18 June 1989 15 years, 142 days 11 years, 119 days 26 years, 261 days 2nd CJ of Himachal Pradesh HC 18th Chief Justice of India
8 Ram Briksha Misra 3 January 1968 30 January 1981 15 June 1986 13 years, 27 days 5 years, 137 days 18 years, 164 days Judge of Allahabad HC
9 Kamal Narain Singh 25 August 1970 10 March 1986 12 December 1991 15 years, 197 days 5 years, 278 days 21 years, 110 days Judge of Allahabad HC 22nd Chief Justice of India
10 Narayan Dutta Ojha 3 September 1971 18 January 1988 18 January 1991 16 years, 139 days 3 years, 1 day 19 years, 138 days 11th CJ of Madhya Pradesh HC
11 Ram Manohar Sahai 27 January 1976 11 January 1990 24 June 1995 13 years, 349 days 5 years, 165 days 19 years, 149 days Judge of Allahabad HC
12 Saiyed Saghir Ahmad 2 November 1981 6 March 1995 30 June 2000 13 years, 124 days 5 years, 117 days 18 years, 242 days CJ of undivided Andhra Pradesh HC
13 Vishweshwar Nath Khare 25 June 1983 21 March 1997 1 May 2004 13 years, 269 days 7 years, 42 days 21 years, 38 days 29th CJ of Calcutta HC 33rd Chief Justice of India
14 Ajay Prakash Misra 24 May 1984 4 December 1997 31 August 2001 13 years, 194 days 3 years, 271 days 17 years, 100 days 18th CJ of Delhi HC
15 Brijesh Kumar 24 May 1984 19 October 2000 9 June 2004 16 years, 148 days 3 years, 235 days 20 years, 17 days 25th CJ of Gauhati HC
16 Govind Prasad Mathur 6 July 1990 20 December 2002 19 January 2008 12 years, 167 days 5 years, 31 days 17 years, 198 days Acting CJ of Allahabad HC
17 Markandey Katju 30 November 1991 10 April 2006 19 September 2011 14 years, 131 days 5 years, 163 days 19 years, 294 days 23rd CJ of Delhi HC
18 Balbir Singh Chauhan 5 April 1995 11 May 2009 1 July 2014 14 years, 36 days 5 years, 52 days 19 years, 88 days 22nd CJ of Orissa HC
19 Rajesh Kumar Agrawal 5 February 1999 17 February 2014 4 May 2018 15 years, 12 days 4 years, 77 days 19 years, 89 days 37th CJ of Madras HC
20 Ashok Bhushan 24 April 2001 13 May 2016 4 July 2021 15 years, 19 days 5 years, 53 days 20 years, 72 days 31st CJ of Kerala HC
21 Vineet Saran 14 February 2002 7 August 2018 10 May 2022 16 years, 174 days 3 years, 277 days 20 years, 86 days 29th CJ of Orissa HC
22 Krishna Murari 7 January 2004 23 September 2019 8 July 2023 15 years, 259 days 3 years, 289 days 19 years, 183 days 34th CJ of Punjab & Haryana HC
  1. ^ a b Includes both tenure as High Court Judge as well as Supreme Court Judge

References

  1. ^ Joshi 2008, p. 93.
  2. ^ Joshi 2008, p. 122.
  3. ^ a b Joshi 2008, p. 118
  4. ^ "DB Bhosale takes over as Chief Justice of Allahabad HC". Business Standard. 30 July 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  5. ^ "Lawyers rally for Meerut HC bench, suspend all work on Saturdays". The Times of India. 3 September 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  6. ^ Bhatt, Prem Dutt (5 May 2022). "Meerut में हाईकोर्ट बेंच की मांग और तेज, अधिवक्‍ता बोले-सड़क पर उतरकर करेंगे आंदोलन" [Demand for High Court Bench in Meerut intensified Advocate said will strike on road]. Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  7. ^ "'Lahore HC closer than Allahabad High Court'". The Hindu. PTI. 29 November 2018. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 3 October 2023.
  8. ^ "UP tops chart among states in trials pending in fast-track courts". The Economic Times. 15 September 2022. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Former Judges of the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad and its Bench at Lucknow(1900-1990)". www.allahabadhighcourt.in. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  10. ^ a b "Judge's Profile | High Court of Madhya Pradesh". mphc.gov.in. Retrieved 19 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Former Hon'ble Chief Justices of Gauhati High Court – The Gauhati High Court". ghconline.gov.in. Retrieved 26 May 2025.

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