A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed in the Allahabad High Court advocating for the renaming of the court to the “High Court of Uttar Pradesh”.
The petitioner, Lucknow-based advocate Deepanker Kumar, represented by counsel Asok Pandey, argues that the current naming convention, which reflects colonial legacies, should be replaced to better represent the court’s constitutional foundation and state affiliation.
Deepanker Kumar’s petition contends that the naming of high courts after the cities where they are located is an outdated British practice. According to the petition, “All the High Courts in the country are the creation of the Constitution and not of some law made or charter issued by the ‘Invader’ British Government.”
The plea also requests that the Allahabad High Court Rules, 1952 be renamed as the Uttar Pradesh High Court Rules, aiming to eliminate any confusion regarding the court’s official designation. This confusion, the petitioner claims, affects not only lawyers and public officials but also the general public.
An additional point raised in the petition concerns the division of jurisdiction between the Allahabad High Court’s two benches in Lucknow and Prayagraj. The petitioner argues that the Allahabad High Court Amalgamation Order of 1948, which initially defined this division, ceased to operate with the adoption of the Constitution in 1950, thus necessitating a formal reevaluation of jurisdictional boundaries.
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This PIL comes in the backdrop of another ongoing litigation, also filed by Asok Pandey in 2021, which addresses similar jurisdictional issues and seeks updates to the current legal framework governing the High Court’s operations.
The High Court has yet to hear the PIL.
