Amid complaints from the Gauhati High Court Bar Association, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday laid the foundation stone for an integrated Judicial Court Complex in North Guwahati in the Kamrup region of Assam.
Lawyers have protested the proposal to include a new Gauhati High Court facility as part of the judicial township. The Gauhati High Court is the high court for Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, and Nagaland.
The CJI said that "personal vested interest should not be valid grounds" for opposing the construction of new infrastructure, expressing surprise at the demonstrations.
"Those who are against the new court complex are either ignorant or do not understand the needs of new bar members. The CJI stated, "After laying the foundation stone for the facility at Rangmahal in North Guwahati, personal vested interests should not be valid grounds for opposing development of infrastructure for the future."
"The integrated Judicial Court Complex is envisaged to match aspirations of the future," he stated, noting that all amenities would be housed under one roof and that the new complex's location is "strategically positioned." Justice Kant emphasized that he is obligated to meet the demands of people entering the field as the leader of the nation's judiciary.
Judges from the Supreme Court and lower courts, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, and a number of dignitaries attended the function.
In the meantime, the Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) resumed a four hour hunger strike that was started on Thursday in front of the Gauhati High Court's old building and boycotted the event.
"We are adamantly opposed to moving the high court from its current location in the center of the city. Our hunger strike has started and will run from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Santanu Borthakur, vice president of the GHCBA, told PTI earlier today that "none of our members will attend the function."
He claimed that the government had unilaterally decided to build a new judicial infrastructure, despite the GHCBA's long standing opposition to the plan to relocate the court complex.
According to the group, the government's action will be contested in court. "We are considering contesting this in court after this. In the next days, our executive committee will convene to determine the next steps," Borthakur stated.
The new judicial township in Rangmahal would be built by the government on 148 bighas, or around 49 acres, of land. The state cabinet cleared Rs 479 crore for the first phase of building a judicial township in North Guwahati in November of last year.
In the interest of all parties involved and the general public, GHCBA had already called for an urgent stop to the project. Currently, the Gauhati High Court is situated on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra in the Uzan Bazar neighborhood in central Guwahati.
In addition to a modern, multi-story, state-of-the-art building that was built and opened a few years ago, it also contains a historic building.
A subterranean tunnel connects the two buildings, which are situated face to face on opposite sides of Mahatma Gandhi Road and feature escalators.
The high court property is needed by the Assam government in order to improve Brahmaputra's riverfront. Alongside the former high court complex on the riverfront, a new convention center is being constructed.
