LUCKNOW, Feb. 2 -- Observing that the judiciary is "starved" of resources to cope with an ever-growing explosion of litigations, the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has quashed criminal proceedings pending for over 34 years in connection with an alleged ruckus on the Uttar Pradesh Vidhan Sabha premises. The court termed the continuation of such stale trials a "futile exercise" and called upon the state government to "chop off the deadwood" by weeding out futile litigations pending in various courts across the state. Justice Pankaj Bhatia passed the judgement on January 28 allowing the two separate petitions filed by Madhukar Sharma and Sanjay Singh, who sought directives to quash entire criminal proceedings arising out of the 1991 case pending before a Lucknow district court. "As regards the directions given by this Court with regard to formulation of a policy, needless to add that continuation of these kind of proceedings across the State are leading to waste of the precious resources available with the judiciary. It is common knowledge that the judiciary is starved of the resources to meet the growing explosion of litigations. Continuation of these futile litigations is adding the otherwise burden on the judiciary," the court observed. According to the FIR, the incident allegedly occurred on February 15, 1991, when the informant was on duty at Gate No. 1 of the Vidhan Sabha. It was alleged that the accused, along with 30-40 others, created a ruckus, attempted to force their way into the assembly premises, climbed the boundary wall, damaged property and broke windshields and lights of vehicles parked inside the complex. Some persons were apprehended, while others allegedly fled. The court noted that although cognisance was taken on the basis of the charge sheet, not a single witness had been examined till date, nor had all the accused been served. On behalf of the state government, it was contended that a three-member committee was contemplating various measures to formulate a case management policy to eliminate the futile litigations pending across the state. The state counsel assured the court that a decision was likely within four weeks.Manoj singh...