NILAMBAZAR, Aug 3 - The Barak Valley Lawyers� Co-ordination Committee has demanded establishment of a permanent Bench of Gauhati High Court in Barak Valley.
The lawyers of three districts, i.e., bar associations of Barak region recently met Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court and submitted a memorandum demanding a permanent Bench of the high court, which was a long-pending demand of the people of Barak Valley.
While addressing mediapersons on Friday, the chairman and other dignitaries of Barak Valley Lawyers� Co-ordination Committee said that the distance between the three districts of Barak Valley and Guwahati is 350 kms, while road and rail communication often remains interrupted during heavy monsoon due to landslide, etc.
The three districts of Barak Valley have a combined population of approximately four lakhs. People have to travel long distance, thereby causing them immense inconveniences in order to reach the Gauhati High Court to pursue their cases.
�This is a great financial strain for the residents of Barak Valley, most of whom belong to the weaker section of society. For long, there has been a demand from the people and different political and leading social organisations in the region that a permanent Bench of the Gauhati High Court be set up in Barak Valley,� they added.
They mentioned that the demand regarding establishment of the high court Bench is logical and legal. The geographical situation of Barak Valley is very critical. There are many high court benches set up in different states of India for the greater interest of the litigants, like Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court, Siliguri Bench under Calcutta High Court, Madurai Bench under Chennai High Court and Jabalpur under Madhy Pradesh High Court.
Senior Advocate Abdur Rasid, Balai Chakrabarty, Bijan Kumar Paul, Subrata Kumar Paul and Dulu Ranjan Das, among others, were present on the occasion.
