'Publicity stunt litigation': Allahabad HC junks plea to rename it as Prayagraj or UP High Court

LUCKNOW: The Allahabad High Court has dismissed a plea to rename itself ether as Prayagraj High Court or the Uttar Pradesh High Court.

A Lucknow bench of the high court dismissed the lawsuit, filed in the form a Public Interest Litigation, terming it as a "publicity stunt litigation".

The petition filed by advocate Ashok Pandey was dismissed by a bench of justices PK Jaiswal and D K Singh.

The petitioner had raised the plea to rename the high court on the ground that the state government rechristened Allahabad district as Prayagraj on October 16, 2018.

In its recent order, the bench said renaming its name is within the powers of the Legislature under the Constitutional scheme and hence it cannot interfere in the issue.

The high court, however, restrained itself from imposing cost on the petitioner for filing “unnecessary” petition, saying the petitioner was a practising lawyer of the court.