Kosal Discussion and Development Forum

Lawyers staged dharna in front of the Orissa legislative assembly for the establishment of a bench of the Orissa high court in Western Orissa

December 8, 2010 at 3:56 pm sanjibkarmee Leave a comment

Following is a report from the Telegraph:

Bhubaneswar, Dec. 7: Lawyers of the western part of the state today staged a dharna in front of the state legislative Assembly demanding set up of a permanent bench of the Orissa High Court in western Orissa.

“The people of western Orissa have been demanding establishment of a bench of the high court since 1959. But the government has not given any attention to our demand.

“The state should immediately send a proposal to this effect to the Central government,” said Ashok Das, convener of the central working committee of the Western Orissa Bar Association.

The state government had constituted the Western Orissa Development Council (WODC) in 1999 for the development of 10 districts of the western part of the state.

“As the government has given its nod for the WODC, it should now give its nod to the establishment of a permanent bench of the high court,” Das said.

The association has also rejected setting of the Justice C.R. Pal Commission which was constituted by the state government in 2008 to look into the demand for a special permanent bench.

“Though the commission was set up on February 28, 2008, it is yet to meet the representatives of the people. There is no need for the establishment of the commission,” said Das.

The agitation for setting up a special permanent bench picked up momentum after Union law minister Veerappa Moily’s visit to the state on July 14, 2010, where he had favoured the idea of establishment of a high court bench in western Orissa. 

Entry filed under: Athmallik, Balangir, Bargarh, Boudh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Judicial and Legal Service, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Permanent bench of the High Court, Region watch, Sambalpur, Subarnapur, Sundergarh.