Allahabad High Court dismissed a criminal writ petition for non-prosecution after petitioner failed to appear before the Court

News Citation : 2026 LN (HC) 323

May 4, 2026 : The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a criminal miscellaneous writ petition filed by Mohammad Tayyab alias Chand after neither the petitioner nor his counsel appeared before the Court to pursue the matter. The Court observed that both appeared to have lost interest in continuing the litigation.

The matter, registered as Criminal Miscellaneous Writ Petition No. 15187 of 2021, was heard by Justice Saurabh Lavania. During the hearing, the counsel representing the respondents was present, but no one appeared on behalf of the petitioner despite the case being called out.

While dismissing the petition for non-prosecution, the Court referred to two well-known legal maxims: “Vigilantibus non dormientibus jura subveniunt,” meaning the law assists only those who are vigilant and not those who sleep over their rights, and “Interest reipublicae ut sit finis litium,” emphasizing that litigation must eventually come to an end in the larger interest of society.

The Bench observed that parties approaching the Court must remain vigilant in pursuing their remedies and noted that prolonged or abandoned litigation cannot continue indefinitely. Accordingly, the writ petition was dismissed for non-prosecution, and any interim order operating in the case was vacated.

Case Reference : Mohammad Tayyab @ Chand v. Commissioner, Devi Patan Mandal, Gonda & Another