Gauhati HC Bar Association to sit on hunger strike during foundation laying of new court complex

Guwahati, Jan 10 (PTI) Members of the Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) will stage a hunger strike on Sunday during the foundation stone laying ceremony of a new court complex, to oppose the move.

A member of the Association said on Saturday that six-hour hunger strikes were carried out by them over the last two days in front of the old building of the Gauhati High Court.

"We will sit on a hunger strike tomorrow from 10 am to 2 pm. We remain firm in our opposition to the shifting of the court complex to North Guwahati," he said.

He added that the GHCBA's appeal to its members to abstain from attending the foundation stone laying ceremony also remains.

The new complex of the Gauhati High Court has been proposed as part of a judicial township at Rangmahal in North Guwahati, and Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, is scheduled to lay the foundation stone of it on Sunday.

Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and several judges of the Supreme Court are scheduled to attend the foundation-laying ceremony.

The decision to stage the hunger strikes was taken in an emergent Extra-Ordinary General meeting of the GHCBA held on Tuesday.

It was also decided at the meeting that the GHCBA will abstain from the foundation stone laying ceremony of the new high court complex.

"The General Body, after due deliberation, has reiterated and reaffirmed its consistent stand, as reflected in earlier resolutions and the referendum conducted by the Association, opposing the proposed shifting of the Principal Seat of the Hon'ble Gauhati High Court from its present location," the GHCBA had said in a statement.

"The Association has decided to abstain from participating in the proposed foundation stone laying ceremony. All learned members of the Bar are earnestly appealed to and respectfully requested to kindly honour and adhere to the collective decision of the general body," it said.

The GHCBA has been vehemently opposing the relocation of the high court complex to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra from the existing place at the heart of the Guwahati city.

The government is planning to construct the new judicial township at Rangmahal, spread across 129 bighas (over 42.5 acres) of land.

In November last year, the state cabinet had approved Rs 479 crore in the first phase to construct a judicial township in North Guwahati.

Earlier, GHCBA had demanded an immediate halt to the project in the interest of all stakeholders and the public at large.

The Gauhati High Court is presently located in the Uzan Bazar area of central Guwahati on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra. It has a historical building, while a state-of-the-art multi-crore modern multi-storey structure was constructed and inaugurated a few years ago.

Both the buildings are located face-to-face on two sides of Mahatma Gandhi Road and are connected through an underground tunnel, having escalator facilities.

The Assam government is seeking to develop the riverfront of the Brahmaputra, for which it requires to acquire the high court land. PTI SSG SSG RG