IMPHAL Nov 8 UNA: The judicial proceedings at Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench was paralysed today as lawyers abstained from work decrying the process of deputation of judges for the proposed Manipur High Court, alleging that it tantamounts to deprivation of rights of the deserving advocates and judicial officers in the state.
Lawyers abstained from court works following a decision of the High Court Bar Association (HCBA), Manipur to abstain from attending court works at the Guahati High Court, Imphal Bench form November 8 onwards.
A court source said that proceedings of the Imphal Bench of the Gauhati High Court were totally paralysed today owing the cease work strike of the lawyers. HCBA has around 250 members and over 100 cases were taken up per day in the bench.
No case was taken up for the day and the same situation was likely to continue for days, the source added.
According to senior members of the HCBA, authority of the Central government did not heed to the appeal of HCBA regarding reservation of posts of judges for the proposed Manipur High Court which was being under process after the Parliament passed an Act for establishing separate High Courts for three northeast states inclusive of Manipur, Tripura and Meghalaya.
HCBA president Kumarjit said that they have been demanding the deputation of seven judges for the High Court of Manipur and that they should be residents from the state. The matter was urged to the Union law minister Salman Khurshid in August 2012 through a representation.
Later, a delegation of HCBA met with the Union law minister who gave an assurance to look into the matter. However, without considering the demands of the HCBA, a decision has been reportedly taken for deputation of four judges for the High Court of Manipur including chief justice.
The judges would also be transferred from Gauhati High Court, Assam as per the recent decision of the Union law ministry, he said. The action is against the interest of the state and it was termed as step-motherly’ treatment.
The decision of the law ministry has hurt the sentiment of lawyers of the state deserving judgeship as it deprives their rights, and that there are no chances for eligible lawyers of elevating their status for decades more, he lamented.
“We strongly objected the arrangement. The agitation of abstaining from court work from today will go on until the pertinent authority consider our demands, Kumarjit said, adding HCBA will once again put up the matter to the notice of the Prime Minister, Union law minister and Manipur chief minister.
Senor advocate Khaidem Mani observed that it would not be practicable to depute four judges only for the High Court. It would give a great difficulty to litigants as the Supreme Court would be the only legally viable institution left to approach and not feasible for the state litigants.
He further said that there were about 6000 pending cases in the Gauhati High Court, Imphal Bench and this was the highest number of cases pending next to Assam in the northeast.
Read more / Original news source: http://manipur-mail.com/lawyers-suspend-court-works/
