Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday laid the foundation stone for an integrated Judicial Court Complex at Rangmahal in North Guwahati in Assam’s Kamrup district, even as members of the Gauhati High Court Bar Association continued protests against the proposed judicial township.
The new infrastructure project includes a proposed complex of the Gauhati High Court, which serves Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. The plan to develop a judicial township in North Guwahati has been strongly opposed by a section of lawyers, who are against shifting the High Court from its present location in central Guwahati.
Expressing surprise over the opposition, Justice Kant said resistance to modern judicial infrastructure should not be driven by personal considerations. “Those opposing the new court complex are either ill-informed or not fully aware of the needs of future members of the Bar.
Personal vested interests cannot be valid grounds to oppose infrastructure meant for the future,” he said after laying the foundation stone. He described the integrated Judicial Court Complex as a forward-looking initiative designed to meet the aspirations of the judiciary and legal fraternity in the coming decades.
Justice Kant said the Rangmahal site is strategically located and envisioned to provide comprehensive facilities under one roof. As a member of the country’s highest court, he said, it was his responsibility to cater to the evolving needs of the legal profession.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, along with judges of the Supreme Court and various high courts, attended the event. Meanwhile, the Gauhati High Court Bar Association boycotted the function and continued a four-hour hunger strike outside the existing High Court premises at Uzan Bazar.
GHCBA leaders reiterated that they oppose shifting the High Court from what they termed the “heart of the city” and accused the government of taking a unilateral decision. The Assam government plans to develop the judicial township over 148 bighas, or nearly 49 acres, at Rangmahal.
In November last year, the state cabinet approved Rs 479 crore for the first phase of construction. The government has also indicated that the existing High Court land is required for Brahmaputra riverfront development, with a new convention centre already coming up near the present complex.