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“In more than ten petitions and applications today, reddish colour saliva is used for turning over the pages of the paper book,” the order noted.
The court said any paper marked with saliva must not be accepted. (AI generated image)
The Allahabad High Court has taken strong exception to what it described as a “filthy and unhygienic” practice: using saliva to flip through pages of petitions and case files. Observing that several case records presented before it carried reddish saliva marks, court directed its registry and law offices to refuse any paper that shows such stains.
The order was passed by Justice Shree Prakash Singh while hearing a petition arising from a land dispute in Bahraich district. But before turning to the merits of the case, the judge recorded his concern over the condition of the documents placed on his bench.
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“In more than ten petitions and applications today, reddish colour saliva is used for turning over the pages of the paper book,” the order noted. “This is highly unhygienic situation, which is not only disgusting and condemnable, but it also shows the lack of basic civic sense,” court said.
Justice Singh warned that such behaviour could expose those handling the papers to infections. “If such kind of filthy practice is not restrained, it will create cause of infection to persons who come into contact with such papers. This is not tolerable at any cost,” the court observed.
To curb the practice, the judge directed the Senior Registrar and the registry staff to carefully check all petitions, paper books and applications at the time of filing. Any paper marked with saliva must not be accepted. The court further ordered the Government Advocate and the Chief Standing Counsel to circulate written directions in their offices, ensuring that clerks, oath commissioners and staff do not indulge in the practice.
After issuing these directions, the bench moved to the case at hand. The petition was filed by Krishna Vati and another, who sought quashing of two orders passed in connection with a dispute over land recorded as Gata No. 171 in Village Pipariya, Bahraich. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Mahsi, had on December 20, 2022, attached the property under Section 146 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. When the applicants later moved for recall, the SDM accepted their plea on May 11, 2023.
The opposite parties, however, challenged this recall in revision before the Additional Sessions Judge-IV, Bahraich, who on March 6, 2025, set aside the SDM’s order and remanded the case for fresh decision. Aggrieved, the applicants approached the High Court, arguing that as recorded tenure holders, their rights had been ignored and their recall application had not been adequately addressed.
Justice Singh noted that the revisional court had indeed not returned any finding on the recall plea and that the matter therefore required further consideration. The High Court issued notice to the opposite parties, directed them to file their response, and stayed both the SDM’s 2022 order and the revisional court’s 2025 order until the next listing in October.
About the Author
Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr…Read More
Salil Tiwari, Senior Special Correspondent at Lawbeat, reports on the Allahabad High Court and courts in Uttar Pradesh, however, she also writes on important cases of national importance and public interests fr… Read More
September 26, 2025, 15:37 IST
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