The Supreme Court on Friday rescinded an order it had passed four days ago barring an Allahabad High Court judge from hearing criminal cases till he retires, Live Law reported.

A Supreme Court bench of Justices JB Pardiwala and R Mahadevan had on August 4 criticised the High Court’s Justice Prashant Kumar for an order in which he had refused to quash a criminal complaint on the grounds that a civil remedy for recovering the money would not be effective.

The Supreme Court had then asked Allahabad High Court Chief Justice Arun Bhansali not to assign any criminal cases to Kumar till he retires.

On Thursday, 13 judges of the High Court wrote to Bhansali, asking him to convene a full court to consider not giving effect to the Supreme Court’s directions on not assigning criminal cases to Kumar, Live Law reported.

Justice Arindam Sinha of the High Court wrote the letter, and 12 other judges signed it.

The letter sought the consideration of a resolution that read: “The Full Court resolves that directions made in paragraphs 24 to 26 in subject order dated 4th August, 2025 is not to be complied with as the Supreme Court does not have administrative superintendence over the High Courts. Furthermore, the Full Court records its anguish in respect of tone and tenor of said order.”

Subsequently, Chief Justice of India BR Gavai wrote to Pardiwala’s bench, asking it to reconsider the directions passed against Kumar, Bar and Bench reported.

The bench comprising Pardiwala and Mahadevan on Friday heard the case again, and recalled the directions barring criminal cases from being allotted to Kumar. The court said it was up to the High Court chief justice to look into the matter.

“We fully acknowledge that the Chief Justice of the HC is the master of the roster,” the Supreme Court said, according to Bar and Bench. “The directions are absolutely not interfering with the administrative power of the Chief Justice of the High Court.”

The Supreme Court bench said it did not intend to cause embarrassment or cast aspersions on Kumar. “Whatever we said in our order was to ensure that the dignity of the judiciary is held high,” it said.

The case

The matter at hand pertained to a dispute between two companies named Lalita Textile Concern and Shikhar Chemicals, The Indian Express reported.

Lalita Textile had filed a criminal complaint, in which it said that it had supplied thread worth Rs 52,34,385 to Shikhar Chemicals. The complainant alleged that Shikhar Chemicals paid only Rs 47,75,000, and the remaining amount had been pending since August 2019.

A magistrate court had taken cognisance of Lalita Textile’s complaint, and had issued summons to Shikhar Chemicals for alleged criminal breach of trust under the Indian Penal Code, according to The Indian Express. Shikhar Chemicals approached the High Court against the magistrate’s order, but its petition was dismissed.

However, the Supreme Court on August 4 set aside the High Court order, saying that the judge had “not only cut a sorry figure for himself but has made a mockery of justice”.

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