Justice Prashant Kumar, criticised in SC order, to sit in Allahabad HC's division bench; to hear civil matters

This order, especially the direction for the removal of criminal law work from Justice Prashant Kumar until his retirement, drew criticism from within both the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court

Justice Prashant Kumar, who has been at the centre of a controversy following the Supreme Court's August 4 order, will sit as a part of the Allahabad High Court's division bench headed by a senior judge, with the bench hearing civil matters.

A bench of the Supreme Court, while passing an order on August 4 in paragraph 24 of its order, had instructed the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to "immediately withdraw the present criminal determination" from Justice Kumar.

Later on, a letter of the Chief Justice of India, the same bench of the apex court considered the matter and deleted critical remarks against Justice Kumar and also the direction that he not be assigned any criminal matters till he demits office.

This order, especially the direction for the removal of criminal law work from Justice Kumar until his retirement, drew criticism from within both the Supreme Court and the Allahabad High Court.

A number of judges of the high court also wrote to the Chief Justice of Allahabad, urging him to convene a full court meeting and defy the Supreme Court's directives against Justice Kumar. Interestingly, the letter was authored by Justice Arindam Sinha, who will now sit with Justice Kumar as senior judge according to the new roster.

In its August 4 order, the Supreme Court, while hearing a special leave petition, had strongly criticised Justice Kumar's reasoning and had expressed shock at his conclusion that civil disputes could be pursued through criminal prosecution because civil suits "take years to conclude".

Re-hearing the matter on the request of the CJI on August 8, the division bench then clarified that it had no intention to "cause embarrassment or cast aspersions on the concerned judge" and reiterated that the judiciary must protect its institutional dignity.

Although the division bench of the apex court deleted its earlier directions in paragraphs 25 and 26 of the August 4 order, it reaffirmed that the judiciary must step in when the rule of law is undermined.

"While we are deleting paras 25 and 26 respectively from our order dated 04th August, 2025, we leave it to the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court to look into the matter," the top court had said, potentially leaving the application of paragraph 24 to the discretion of the Chief Justice of the High Court.

Now, according to the new roster, the division bench comprising Justice Sinha and Justice Kumar will hear the civil matters pertaining to family court appeals and the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 apart from miscellaneous matters.