Odisha CM urges Centre to establish Orissa HC benches in Western, Southern Regions

ONI Bureau:  As the Sambalpur District Bar Association announced to shut down all the courts in the district from today demanding a permanent High Court bench in the region, Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik requested Union Law and Justice Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad to take an early decision regarding establishment of permanent Benches of Orissa High Court in Western & Southern Odisha.

In a letter to the Union Minister, the CM said, “kindly refer to my earlier letters dated 28 September, 2013, and 13 February, 2014, wherein I had requested that steps be taken for the establishment of High Court benches in western and southern Odisha. There has been persistent demand from the people of these regions for setting up permanent benches of Orissa High Court to mitigate the inconvenience faced by the litigants. I had further conveyed the assurance of the state government to provide adequate resources for the establishment of the high court benches in these areas.”

The letter also said, “The state government is aware of the various decisions of the Supreme Court including the case of Federation of Bar Association of Karnataka vs Union of India and others as well as the recommendation of the Commission headed by Justice Jaswant Singh for the establishment of the bench of a High Court away from its principal seat. “In our view, there is adequate justification for the establishment of permanent benches of Orissa High Court in the western and southern parts of Odisha and the criteria laid down by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission are also substantially met”.