Everyone has equal right to access justice: SC refuses to entertain judicial officer's plea

You don’t have any Active Subscription.

Account subscription benefits alongside Premium Stories, Editorials, Opinions and more. Unlock these with Subscription

Representational image. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Asserting that everyone has an equal right to access justice, the Supreme Court on Thursday (October 1, 2026) refused to entertain a petition filed by a former judicial officer seeking expeditious hearing on his pending plea before the Allahabad High Court.

"Whether a person is a bus conductor or a secretary of the State, everyone has an equal right to access justice," a Bench of Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana told the counsel appearing for the petitioner.

Before the High Court, the former judicial officer has challenged his termination from service.

The apex court initially observed that the petitioner should approach the High Court and make a request there.

The petitioner's counsel told the Bench that due to huge burden of cases in the High Court, his plea has not been decided.

The Bench observed that asking the High Court to accord priority to the petitioner's plea would be unfair to other litigants who are waiting for their turn for adjudication on their pleas.

"In this space of constitutional equality, we will not create individualistic interventions," the Bench observed.

It said the petitioner may pursue the matter before the appropriate court.

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.