Lawyers protest demanding HC bench at Berhampur

BERHAMPUR: Lawyers of the District Bar Association blocked traffic for hours at Kamapalli square in support of their demand for a circuit bench of Orissa High Court in Berhampur. “The state must immediately submit a proposal to the high court assigning reasons for a permanent bench in Berhampur,” president of the association Bhagaban Sahu said. He pointed out that the Union law ministry stated that it had not received any concrete proposal from the state in this regard. “In the larger interest of the state and people, the government should prepare a detailed proposal and urge the Centre,” he said. The Ganjam Bar Association has 2,400 registered advocates. Set up in 1844, it is even older than the Cuttack Bar Association. The lawyers threatened to paralyse the government machinery in the southern part of the state if the government failed to respond to their demand. “In 2008, the state appointed a commission of enquiry headed by Justice Chitta Ranjan Pal, a retired judge of Orissa High Court, to look into the demands of different bar associations and make an in-depth study in respect of establishment of circuit bench. The tenure of the commission has been extended couple of times and will finally end on December 31 this year. The government has already spent over Rs 18,92 lakh towards the salary and allowances of Justice Pal,” he said. The state is extending tenure of the commission from time to time without any valid reason,” he said. Advocate Jyoti Prasad Chhotray, who has authored Bench of Orissa High Court at Berhampur: A Justification, said that as per the procedure, “a proposal given by the chief minister is considered by the high court at a full-court meeting. Then a recommendation is made to the Centre. Though the infrastructure is provided by the state, appointment of judges and its day-to-day function are looked after by the high court”.

Source: The Telegraph