Let me begin at the very beginning by asserting most emphatically that I personally don’t support the building of more temples or any other religious structure in any nook and corner of UP which is already flooded with so many. It is most disappointing to see that the present UP government is planning to build a huge temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.
We all have seen for ourselves that how in the past so many thousands of people lost their precious lives after the most unfortunate demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 which should never have happened at the first place! What did UP gain? What did India gain? There were bomb blasts in Mumbai on March 12, 1993 in which more than 300 people died and many thousands were hurt badly! Tensions between Hindus and Muslims claimed so many innocent lives yet our politicians conveniently forget everything!
Now again ever since the BJP has formed the government in UP, the chorus for temple has again started growing. India and UP cannot afford to see many more precious lives burning and dying just for the sake of temple! Why can’t we all live in peace? Why both Hindus and Muslims are insisting to worship at the particular disputed site in Ayodhya? Lord Ram never wished to see even one person unhappy in his kingdom but see what is happening in his name now and what happened earlier also? So many thousands of people have lost their precious lives because of the insane fight over Ram temple at disputed site in Ayodhya! Why can’t Ram temple be built elsewhere?
It is so shocking and disgusting to see that West UP is fast becoming the epicenter of all kinds of crimes, rapes, gangrapes, brutal murders, mass murders, dacoity, robbery and what not! What is even more shocking to see is that all political parties barring Samajwadi Party have openly espoused the creation of a high court bench in West UP but still even after seventy years of independence we see no sign of it happening anytime soon! What is most shocking is that inspite of West UP accounting for more than half of the crime cases all over UP, not a single high court bench has been created here since 1947 till now even though a high court bench was created at Lucknow which is just about 150-200 km away from Allahabad way back on July 1, 1948! What an unbeatable irony that Allahabad High Court tops with maximum pending cases at 10 lakh and still it has least high court benches – only one at Lucknow for just 12 districts!
What a shame that man and boys in West UP have the guts to indulge in molestation as they 14 of them did in Rampur district in West UP when they molested and assaulted 2 girls in broad daylight in a village under Tanda police station in Rampur and also filmed the act on their cellphone cameras and later put it on Facebook! One accused even forcibly lifts her up laughing! While the girls are seen pleading with them to let them go, the youths are seen laughing and misbehaving with them! This is fast becoming the norm in West UP and even UP!
There is zero fear of law in West UP and UP! How long will the government keep tom-tomming the same old argument on lawlessness in West UP and UP? Why no strict action is taken against culprits?
Such criminals know fully well that Allahabad High Court has the highest number of pending cases – about 10 lakh as compared to other states where the number of pending cases don’t exceed 1 lakh or at the most 2 lakhs cases! They know that they will easily get bail and by the time cases are finally decided they will die a natural death. This must change which is possible only if at least in my opinion 10 more benches of high court are created in different parts of UP! Such poor, hapless women and girls, for God sake, need more high court benches and not more temples!
But see the unpalatable irony! Politicians are not prepared to create even a single bench anywhere in UP leave alone West UP! It is a matter of great shame that Allahabad High Court which last year on March 17 had completed its 150th year of establishment has the least benches in India – only one at Lucknow and that too just about 150-200 km away from Allahabad! Why no high court bench in West UP at Meerut or Agra or at Jhansi or some other place? We all know that Allahabad High Court is the biggest court in whole of Asia and also the oldest court! Still why it has least benches in India only one which is so close to Allahabad? If Lucknow is capital of UP, Bhopal is also capital of MP, Bhubaneshwar is also capital of Odisha and so is the case with many other big cities which neither have high court nor bench!
Why politicians have ensured that a high court bench was created for Lucknow about 69 years back on July 1, 1948 but not at any other place especially in West UP, Bundelkhand and Gorakhpur even 70 years later? Why Centre decided to create 2 more benches for Karnataka at Dharwad and Gulbarga for just 4 and 8 districts but not a single for West UP with 26 disricts? Why 230th report of Law Commission submitted in 2009 which recommended creation of more benches has only been implemented in Karnataka alone and not in UP, Bihar or other big states?
When Dr Sampoornanand who was the UP CM way back in 1955 very strongly recommended a high court bench for West UP at Meerut, Jawaharlal Nehru refused as he felt that one bench at Lucknow was enough. The number of pending cases way back in 1948 were not much but see the situation now! West UP now accounts for more than half of the pending cases of total pending cases of UP and UP tops the maximum pending cases state list with 10 lakh pending cases still it has just one high court bench as no more benches were created in UP since 1948! Other states like Karnataka and Maharashtra don’t have 10 lakh or 9 lakh or 8 lakh or 7 lakh or 6 lakh or 5 lakh or 4 lakh or 3 lakh or even 2 lakh cases still they have got 3 high court benches but UP has only one! Is this fair?
Why not a single bench of high court was created in West UP even though Justice Jaswant Singh Commission appointed by former PM late Mrs Indira Gandhi very strongly recommended 3 benches for West UP and hilly areas adjoining it which now form a separate state – Uttarakhand at Agra, Nainital and Dehradun? Why women victims have to travel so far away to Allahabad which is about 700-800 km away from most of the districts of West UP and be made to suffer so much for the inordinate delay and made to bear the huge expenses in fighting the case for her right in making sure that sexual offenders are sent behind bars?
Why when UP which is among the largest States, has maximum population – more than 22 crore as CM Yogi Adityanath keeps pointing out every now and then, maximum districts - 75, maximum constituencies, maximum MPs – 80, maximum MLAs - 404, maximum PM including Narendra Modi, maximum pending cases – more than 10 lakh and here too West UP accounts for more than half of pending cases as noted by Justice Jaswant Commission about 57%, maximum Judges which earlier was 160 and increased to 200 in high court, maximum vacancies of Judges - 75 in high court, maximum poverty, maximum villages more than one lakh, maximum cities more than 700, maximum fake encounters killings, custody killings, custodial tortures, maximum dowry cases, maximum rape and gang rape cases, maximum acid throwing cases, maximum bride burning cases, maximum cases of human rights violations, maximum undertrials, maximum cases of crime, loot, arson and riots and here too West UP tops with Saharanpur riots, Meerut riots, Muzaffarnagar riots tarnishing our international reputation to the extent that former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon termed UP as “crime and rape capital” of India and what not yet Centre is not prepared to create even a single bench for not just West UP but entire UP? Why when UP sends maximum MPs to Lok Sabha – 80, maximum MPs to Rajya Sabha – 30, maximum MLAs to State Assembly – 404 MLAs and maximum members to State Legislative Council – 100 MLAs and yet has least benches – only one and that too just 150 km away from Allahabad at Lucknow?
I however very strongly feel that UP especially and India need no more temples as there are already many! What UP lacks is high court benches and not more temples! UP has just one high court bench at Lucknow which is just 150-200 km away from Allahabad where high court is located! Is this fair?
Who will benefit if more high court benches are built – Hindus alone or Muslims alone or Sikhs alone or Christians alone? No, all people of all religions will benefit equally if more high court benches are built especially in UP which is notorious for being the “rape and crime capital of India” as former UN Secretary General Ban ki Moon put it aptly! Then why are all politicians of all parties adamant that except the one bench created by Jawaharlal Nehru about 70 years back at Lucknow on July 1, 1948 no bench should be created anywhere else under any circumstances? Is the ghost of Nehruji compelling them to behave so irrationally? Why the recommendations of Justice Jaswant Singh Commission to create a high court bench at Aurangabad in Maharashtra was promptly accepted but recommendations to create 3 high court benches at Nainital, Agra and Dehradun were blatantly disregarded? Benches were also created at Jalpaiguri in West Bengal and Madurai in Tamil Nadu but not for West UP! Why such a raw, naked discrimination?
If a high court bench is created it is “poorest of poor” of all castes and all religions and the most deprived and hapless women of all religions and all castes who will benefit most as they will be saved from the unnecessary trouble of travelling so far and spending so much extra money, time etc to just attend one hearing alone! What will temple give? Only Hindu devotees will be satisfied and for justice they too who live in West UP would have to march 700-800 km as we see right now! Centre must have some pity on woman at least now who are most unsafe in lawless UP and especially West UP and immediately order creation of more benches not just in West UP but also in other parts of UP where the crime rate is high! Crime rate is highest in West UP which necessitates creation of bench here on a war footing by which people of all religions and all castes and all sexes will benefit equally!
Sanjeeev Sirohi, Advocate,
s/o Col BPS Sirohi,
A 82, Defence Enclave,
Sardhana Road, Kaankerkhera,
Meerut – 250001, Uttar Pradesh.
