Lawyers body slams Assam CM’s decision to shift Gauhati High Court

Lawyers body told reporters that the decision to relocate the High Court was made without the creation of a master plan

Guwahati: The Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) on Monday took a jibe at Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma for single-handedly deciding to shift the High Court to Rangmahal in the Kamrup (Rural) district on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra river.

The lawyers body told reporters that the decision to relocate the High Court was made without the creation of a master plan or vision document, which will cause problems for many lawyers in Guwahati.

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The group questioned why, although Bombay, Madras and Calcutta high courts had been in the same location for years, while the government decided to relocate Gauhati High Court without any requests.

They further questioned that there had been no discussion in the Assam legislative assembly about it. According to the association, the Gauhati High Court’s chief justice Sandeep Mehta was the only person who knew about this decision in addition to Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.

They said that the name ‘Judicial City’ is absurd in and of itself. The state government has announced to build this complex at Rangamahal where the high court is to be shifted.

The lawyers body questioned the motive behind such a unilateral decision without having a formal consultation on any platform. Riniki Bhuiyan Sarma, wife of the Assam Chief Minister, has built a private international school at that locality.

The lawyers body alleged that the concept of ‘Judicial City’ was visualised where the quarters of judges and other staff of the high court were to be built, to promote the international school. The proposed ‘Judicial City’ falls in the home constituency of Chief Minister Sarma also.

The GHCBA questioned if all of the institutions should be located in the constituency of the chief minister. Meanwhile, the body claimed that the current Chief Justice does not recognise the majority of the high court solicitors, making it impossible for him to understand their struggles.

As the state government has decided, the Gauhati High Court will be moving to Rangmahal in North Guwahati. The lawyers have voiced their opposition to this decision, claiming that it will be extremely difficult for them and the general public to commute from the city to North Guwahati.