Chhattisgarh High Court Issues New Roster, New Bench Allocations Effective From August 21, 2026

Bilaspur: The High Court of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur, has issued a new roster allocating judicial work among its Division Benches and Single Benches. The roster, issued on August 18, 2026, will come into effect from August 21, 2026 and remain in force until further orders. The new arrangement covers a wide range of civil, criminal, writ, appellate, bail, contempt and other matters.

Under the new roster, Division Bench-I, comprising the Hon’ble Chief Justice and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, will hear all writ matters assigned to a Division Bench, except matters concerning orders of tribunals constituted under Articles 323-A and 323-B of the Constitution of India and matters relating to Ultra Vires up to the year 2022. The Bench will also deal with Public Interest Litigations, Writ Appeals, Habeas Corpus petitions, Criminal References in capital cases, Criminal Appeals from 2021 onwards, Criminal Writ Petitions, contempt petitions in criminal matters and other specifically assigned cases.

The Bench will also hear Criminal Appeals of the year 2020 at the motion hearing stage, applications for leave to appeal under Section 378 of the CrPC and Section 419 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, applications under Section 482 of the CrPC and Section 528 of the BNSS for quashing of FIRs, and acquittal appeals up to the year 2015.

Division Bench-II, comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal, has been assigned all criminal matters that have not been allotted to another Division Bench. The Bench will also hear acquittal appeals from 2016 onwards and Ultra Vires matters up to the year 2022.

Division Bench-III, comprising Hon’ble Mr. Justice Parth Prateem Sahu and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sachin Singh Rajput, will deal with all civil matters of a Division Bench that have not been assigned to another Bench. Its jurisdiction also includes company appeals, first appeals relating to matrimonial matters, tax cases including writ appeals arising from tax cases, writ matters against orders of tribunals constituted under Articles 323-A and 323-B of the Constitution, and Commercial Appellate Division Bench matters.

At the Single Bench level, a Special Bench headed by the Hon’ble Chief Justice has been assigned several categories of criminal and procedural matters. These include specified applications under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, petitions under Section 482 of the CrPC and Section 528 of the BNSS, criminal revisions up to 2016, maintenance-related criminal revisions, bail applications under Sections 438 and 439 of the CrPC and corresponding provisions of the BNSS, criminal transfer petitions, criminal appeals from 2022 to 2023 at the motion hearing stage, and specially assigned cases.

Single Bench-I, presided over by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay K. Agrawal, will hear service writ petitions from 2019 to 2020, civil writ petitions from 2020 to 2021 at the final hearing stage, miscellaneous appeals under the Motor Vehicles Act for 2019 and 2020, and tied-up matters.

Single Bench-II, presided over by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Parth Prateem Sahu, will deal with civil contempt cases up to 2022, civil writ petitions from 2020 to 2021 at the motion hearing stage, and tied-up matters.

The roster assigns Single Bench-III, headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas, several criminal matters, including bail applications under Section 439 of the CrPC and Section 483 of the BNSS involving offences punishable with maximum sentences of death, as well as matters under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, subject to the exclusions specified in the roster. The Bench will also hear appeals under Section 14A of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, criminal revisions from 2017 onwards, petitions under Section 482 of the CrPC and Section 528 of the BNSS, and specified criminal appeals.

Single Bench-IV, presided over by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi, will hear civil revisions from 2021 onwards, service writ petitions from 2023 onwards, civil transfer petitions, other civil matters not assigned to another Single Bench, criminal references and tied-up matters.

Single Bench-V, presided over by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sachin Singh Rajput, has been assigned Second Appeals, First Appeals, civil revisions up to 2020 and tied-up matters.

The roster further assigns Single Bench-VI, headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey, service writ petitions for 2017-2018 and 2021-2022, Writ Petitions (L), Writ Petitions (T) and tied-up matters.

Single Bench-VII, headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Radhakishan Agrawal, will hear criminal revisions against acquittal, acquittal appeals and leave to appeal up to 2023, criminal appeals from 2006 to 2010, and tied-up matters.

Single Bench-VIII, presided over by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal, has been assigned miscellaneous appeals under the Motor Vehicles Act up to 2018 and from 2021 onwards, along with tied-up matters.

A Special Bench headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal will hear acquittal appeals and leave-to-appeal matters from 2024 onwards, writ petitions of all types up to 2006, service writ petitions up to 2016, petitions under Article 227 of the Constitution of India and tied-up matters.

Single Bench-IX, presided over by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Bibhu Datta Guru, will hear service writ petitions from 2024 onwards, civil writ petitions up to 2019, civil contempt cases from 2023 onwards and tied-up matters.

Meanwhile, Single Bench-X, headed by Hon’ble Mr. Justice Amitendra Kishore Prasad, will hear civil writ petitions from 2022 onwards and tied-up matters.

The roster also specifies that certain matters assigned to individual benches will be taken up from 2:15 PM or after completion of the relevant Division Bench list, whichever is earlier. This timing arrangement has been specifically mentioned against several Single Benches.

The roster was issued under the authority of the Chief Justice on August 18, 2026. An endorsement issued on the same date directs circulation of the roster to the offices of the Chief Justice and Judges, the Registrar General, various Registrars and administrative branches, the Advocate General, the Deputy Solicitor General, the High Court Legal Services Committee, the High Court Bar Association and other concerned offices. The OIC-NIC has also been directed to upload the roster on the Internet.

The new roster is significant for advocates and litigants appearing before the Chhattisgarh High Court, as the allocation of judicial work will change from August 21, 2026. Lawyers and parties with pending matters will therefore need to check the applicable bench allocation and daily cause list according to the new roster.