New Delhi: In a significant exercise of its extraordinary constitutional powers, the Supreme Court of India has invoked Article 139A(1) of the Constitution of India to withdraw three criminal revision petitions pending before the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, transferring them directly to itself for disposal.
A Bench comprising Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta passed the order on February 13, 2026, in Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 56 of 2026 filed by Jaideep Kumar Srivastava, who claims to be the legal heir of a victim in a murder case dating back to 1994.
The origins of the dispute trace back to May 30, 1994, when Case Crime No. 68 of 1994 was registered at Police Station Charkhi, Sub-District Kalpi, District Jalaun, Uttar Pradesh, for offences under Sections 147, 148, 149, 302 and 307 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The incident allegedly resulted in the death of two persons and injuries to several others. The case was committed to the Court of Sessions in 1995 and registered as Sessions Trial No. 17 of 1995, with a second Sessions Trial (No. 66 of 2004) later added for an accused who had been absconding.
During the trial’s pendency, the State Government issued a Government Order in April 2008 proposing withdrawal of prosecution against one accused, Chhotey Singh, under Section 321 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. A fresh application was subsequently filed in March 2012 also seeking withdrawal of prosecution against the remaining accused persons. By a common order dated May 19, 2012, the Trial Court allowed the withdrawal in respect of Chhotey Singh but rejected the prayer for the remaining accused.
Aggrieved by the Trial Court’s order, the remaining accused filed Criminal Revision Nos. 1678, 1874, and 1900 of 2012 before the Allahabad High Court. The predecessor-in-interest of the petitioner also filed Criminal Revision No. 2107 of 2012 challenging the withdrawal permitted in favour of Chhotey Singh. All three revisions filed by the accused were heard together and judgment was reserved on February 5, 2020. However, no judgment was pronounced thereafter, and the subsisting stay on trial proceedings effectively brought the criminal trial to a complete standstill.
Criminal Revision No. 2107 of 2012 eventually reached the Supreme Court as SLP (Criminal) No. 16417 of 2023 and was disposed of by judgment dated July 15, 2024 in Criminal Appeal No. 2914 of 2024. The Supreme Court, on that occasion, set aside the order permitting withdrawal of prosecution against Chhotey Singh and directed the High Court to re-evaluate and decide the remaining criminal revision petitions concerning withdrawal of prosecution in the light of the observations made in that judgment. Despite the petitioner filing a supplementary affidavit before the High Court and moving multiple listing applications, the matters were last listed on February 4, 2026, and were again adjourned.
Taking note of the prolonged stagnation, the Supreme Court observed that it does not ordinarily entertain petitions under Article 32 seeking directions concerning listing or disposal of matters pending before High Courts, as that would undermine the constitutional position of the High Courts and disturb the settled discipline of judicial hierarchy. However, the Court held that this was a rare and exceptional situation warranting its intervention.
The Court noted that the pending revisions carried implications far beyond the private interests of the parties. They implicated the effective enforcement of binding directions issued by this Court, the constitutional requirement of timely adjudication after a matter is heard and judgment reserved, and the credibility of the criminal process in serious offences where long delay itself produces irreversible prejudice.
The Court held that these were questions of substantial and general importance justifying the invocation of Article 139A(1) of the Constitution.
Exercising the power conferred by Article 139A(1), the Supreme Court withdrew Criminal Revision Nos. 1678, 1874, and 1900 of 2012 from the Allahabad High Court and tagged them with the present writ petition for disposal.
The Registrar General of the Allahabad High Court has been directed to transmit the complete records of the aforesaid criminal revisions to the Supreme Court Registry within three weeks.
Additionally, the apex court held that if the original trial records are presently lying with the High Court, they are to be returned to the Trial Court within the same period, with the High Court retaining only authenticated copies.
The Registry of the Supreme Court has been directed to place the withdrawn matters before an appropriate Bench after obtaining orders from the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India.
Appearance:
For Petitioner: Mr. Sudhir Naagar (AOR); Mr. Arun Kumar Nagar, Mr. Manohar Naagar, Mr. Roop Chaudhary, Ms. Savita (Advocates)
Case Title: Jaideep Kumar Srivastava v. The State of U.P. & Ors.
