Posts filed under ‘Judicial and Legal Service’
HC Bench at Balangir demanded;Balangir lawyers, Narasingh Mishra meets CJ
Following is a report from the TNIE:
BHUBANESWAR: Balangir Bar Association has requested Chief Justice of Orissa High Court, Justice Amitava Roy, to consider Western Odisha town of Balangir as suitable location to establish a permanent High Court bench. A delegation of the Bar Association, accompanied by Leader of the Opposition Narsingh Mishra, on Monday met Justice Roy at Cuttack.
Speaking to mediapersons, Mishra, a former president of the Bar, said the Chief Justice has assured that a decision would be taken keeping the interest of the State and its people in view. Mishra said Balangir and Baripada have earlier served as Circuit benches of Patna HC before the Orissa HC was set up in Cuttack in 1948.
Naveen seeks steps to resolve western Odisha stir over HC bench
Amid closure of state and central government offices since February three in western Odisha to demand setting up of a permanent high court bench, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today urged the Centre to expedite the process of fulfilling the long-standing demand.
“In view of the persisting agitation by the people of both western and southern regions, I would urge upon you to engage with Orissa High Court for an early response based on which I am hopeful that a favourable solution can emerge to fulfil the long-pending demand,” Patnaik said in a letter to Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal.
Patnaik’s letter came after ministers and MLAs of western Odisha met the chief minister and discussed the ongoing agitation.
While all offices remained closed in seven districts of Subarnapur, Sundergarh, Sambalpur, Boudh, Deogarh, Bargarh and Jharsuguda since February three, members of Sambalpur Bar Association launched relay hunger-strike on February five.
Patnaik had earlier on September 28, 2013 requested Sibal to take steps on establishment of high court benches in western and southern Odisha to meet the aspiration of the people of these two regions.
“I have also conveyed the assurance of the state government for provision of adequate funds and other resources required for establishment of these two benches,” Patnaik said in the letter.
Sibal in his reply on October 23 this year informed the state government that the letter had been forwarded to the Chief Justice, Orissa High Court to examine the case.
Sibal had also told the state that further action would be taken by the Centre based on the response from the high court.
However, the state was yet to know the view of high court on setting up benches in the two region of the state.
Meanwhile, the Central Action Committee of western Odisha lawyers said they would examine the state government’s letter before taking any decision on the future course of action on agitation.
HC bench issue: No nomination in Balangir and Titlagarh
Following is a report from the TOI:
BHUBANESWAR: Not single nomination was filed for Balangir municipality and Titlagarh notified area council (NAC) for the rescheduled urban local body (ULB) elections on November 22 by close of nominations on Tuesday. Local political leaders cutting across party lines in the two towns backed the lawyers’ poll boycott call in support of high court bench. Elsewhere, however, the parties went ahead by filing nominations.
State Election Commissioner Ajit Tripathy said the commission will soon take a decision on Balangir and Titlagarh while polls will be held according to schedule in 20 other ULBs.
The State Election Commission, in a statement, said total 1,265 candidates filed papers for polls to the 22 ULBs. Highest 127 candidates filed nomination papers for Brajarajanagar municipality. On the last day, 23 Congress candidates filed their nominations in the industrial town while nominees of other parties had already filed papers.
As many as 696 candidates filed papers on Tuesday, which is the highest number of nominations on any given day since the process began on October 28.
In Bargarh, all three major political parties filed nomination papers on the last day of nominations while three candidates had filed their papers earlier. As many as 76 candidates filed nominations for the 19-ward Bargarh municipality on Tuesday.
In Deogarh, BJD leader and district bar association president Bibhuti Gangadeb resigned from the post after a section of lawyers accused him of extending support to the poll process despite opposition from lawyers. For the 11-ward Deogarh municipality, 53 candidates filed nominations out which 11 each are from the BJD, the BJP and the Congress while 20 are independents.
In Bhawanipatna, after 20 BJD aspirants filed nominations on Monday, Congress and BJP nominees too decided to contest the election. Despite protest by lawyers, 50 candidates filed nominations on Tuesday. They include 19 from the Congress, 15 from the BJP and 16 independents.
Verification of the papers will be done on Thursday while November 11 is the last date to withdraw nomination papers. While the BJD has decided to take part in the polls, citing that boycott will not help the cause of HC bench, the Congress and the BJP said they were forced to file papers as others did.
“We were left with no option as BJD candidates filed papers,” said Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee president Jayadev Jena. The BJP said its party candidates may withdraw nominations if Congress and BJD nominees do so.
“We are ready to withdraw the nominations if both BJD and Congress take similar decisions,” BJP spokesperson Suresh Pujari said.
(With inputs from Sambalpur, Jharsuguda and Bhawanipatna)
Recent update on high court bench in Western Odisha
1. Kapil Sibal replies to CM Naveen Patnaik on HC bench in Western Odisha; CJ’s consent must for HC Bench: http://www.orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=45123
2. HC bench in Western Odisha: CAC to meet Odisha High Court CJ: http://www.indlawnews.com/newsdisplay.aspx?e39bbbad-4b39-4239-b52c-e0014ab73d18
3. Odisha HC Chief Justice invites Bolangir Bar Association for discussion at Cuttack on Nov 4: http://orissadiary.com/CurrentNews.asp?id=45312
Odia translation of CM Shri Naveen Patnaik’s letter regarding HC bench in western and southern Odisha
Following report is from the Sambad:
Odisha govt. recommends HC benches in western and southern parts
Following is a report from TOI:
BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Saturday recommended the Centre that permanent benches of the Orissa high court be set up in western and southern parts of the state, sources said.
Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, in a letter to Union law minister Kapil Sibal, justified establishment of HC benches in places other than its principal seat in Cuttack provided all legal parameters were met. “The justifications are in tune with the Justice Jaswant Singh committee recommendations,” another source added. In 1986, the commission gave its report on setting up HC benches and laid down broad principles and criteria for it.
In his letter, Naveen said the state government would provide infrastructure and other support for the proposed benches. It came on a day the HC bar association opposed the proposed benches.
The state government’s letter came amid widespread protests in different regions of the state, pressing for HC benches. Lawyers of western Odisha, under the Central Action Committee banner, have been agitating for over two months seeking establishment of a bench in their Lawyers of southern and other parts of the state are also batting for HC benches in their regions.
A special court to dispose of SCs and STs cases to come up in Balangir
Following report is from the Sambad:
High Court Branch Issue: MLAs of westen Odisha call for immediate action
Following report is from the Samaja:
Stepmotherly treatment to Western Odisha: Sambalpur Congress MP Amar Pradhan
Follwoing is from The Pioneer:
Sambalpur Congress MP Amar Pradhan on Sunday accused the State Government of “step-motherly attitude” towards western Odisha resulting in intra-State regional disparity. He was participating in a ‘Meet the Press’ programme of the Sambalpur Press Club. Sufficient fund is coming to Sambalpur for developmental works. Whatever fund is allotted for the region, hardly 50 per cent of it is spent, he said.
He further alleged that the post of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner (RDC) of the Northern Division is deliberately kept vacant to give the local industries an upper hand in revenue matters. This shows “the love of the State Government for the industries,” which are behaving arbitrarily, he remarked.
Pradhan pointed out that the RDC is the chairman of the Periphery Development Committee that looks into problems of the land oustees and all other problems of the division comprising as many as 10 districts. The RDC also directly interferes in the illegal activities of the industries. But going to help the industries, the State Government has kept this important post vacant almost for a year, he said. He also expressed concern over the affairs of the Burla-based VSS Medical College. “The Medical Council of India (MCI) withdrew the enhanced 43 seats in MBBS degree from this college. But due to our intervention, the MCI gave conditional permission. However, the State Government is yet to fulfil the relevant conditions, for which the medical college may face a similar problem at any point of time,” he said.
Pradhan also said State Government has no sincerity to establish a High Court Bench here. When the Union Law minister has already given his consent for a High Court Bench at Sambalpur, the State Government is yet to express similar promptness, he alleged.
He also expressed his utter dissatisfaction over the pollution made by the industries of Sambalpur and Jharsuguda districts and, particularly, by those established on SH-10 beginning from Rengali to Jharsuguda. “I will bring this matter to the notice of the State Government,” he said.President and secretary of the Press Club Arjun Ranjan Panda and Prafulla Dash, respectively, and other members were present and interacted with the MP.
Lawyers staged dharna in front of the Orissa legislative assembly for the establishment of a bench of the Orissa high court in Western Orissa
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.
Kosal Discussion and Development Forum 