The Orissa High Court Bar Association (OHCBA) here has
decided that a delegation of it would soon meet Chief Justice S
Muralidhar to apprise him that no additional Bench of the High Court is required in any part of the State. The decision was taken through a resolution unanimously passed by the association opposing the move to establish HC Benches in southern or western Odisha.

OHCBA secretary Alok Prasad Nanda said establishment of any additional Bench would only result in wastage of public money. “Instead of building new infrastructures for new Benches, simply increasing the strength of the court’s principal seat here would be highly beneficial in disposing of the huge backlog of pending cases,” he argued.

As expected, lawyers in other parts of the State, including Ganjam and Sambalpur opposed the resolution of the OHCBA saying it is uncalled-for.

More than the judicial requirement, the demand for additional HC Benches is viewed as a political gimmick for over three decades now, observed OHCBA members during a discussion on Wednesday before passing the resolution. For narrow political gains, major political parties
have stoked the issue intermittently demanding a Bench almost in every district of south, west and north Odisha, they observed.

“A judicial commission report on the issue has not been made public
yet by the State Government even after eight years of its submission.
Retired High Court Judge CR Pal had submitted his recommendations to the Government in 2014,” said an OHCBA member, adding that even the High Court ruled that it was not mandatory for the Government to make public the findings of every judicial commission.

Recently, the Union Law Ministry has suggested the Chief Minister to hold consultations with the HC Chief Justice on the proposal to establish any additional Bench.