Naveen Patnaik urges Centre to establish Orissa HC benches in western, southern regions of state

Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday urged the Centre to take quick steps for establishment of permanent High Court benches in western and southern regions of the state to fulfil the aspirations of the people of these regions. [caption id=“attachment_5121731” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Naveen Patnaik. Twitter/@Naveen_Odisha[/caption] In a letter to Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, the chief minister asked him to refer to his earlier letters dated 28 September, 2013, and 13 February, 2014, wherein he had requested that steps be taken for the establishment of High Court benches in western and southern Odisha. “There has been persistent demand from the people of these regions for setting up permanent benches of Orissa High Court to mitigate the inconvenience faced by the litigants,” Patnaik said. “I had further conveyed the assurance of the state government to provide adequate resources for the establishment of the high court benches in these areas,” the chief minister said in his letter, copies of which were released to media. The views of the Orissa High Court on the recommendation have not materialised so far, he said, adding that it is learnt from the response received from the Centre vide a letter dated 7 October, 2015 that the Orissa High Court is seized with the process of examination of statistics regarding number of cases originating from various regions. Patnaik said the state government is aware of the various decisions of the Supreme Court including the case of Federation of Bar Association of Karnataka vs Union of India and others as well as the recommendation of the Commission headed by Justice Jaswant Singh for the establishment of the bench of a High Court away from its principal seat.“In our view, there is adequate justification for the establishment of permanent benches of Orissa High Court in the western and southern parts of Odisha and the criteria laid down by Justice Jaswant Singh Commission are also substantially met,” the chief minister said. He said the Parliament has the prerogative to establish such benches in an exercise of its powers under Entry-78 if the Union List. “In the above context, it is urged that an early decision regarding establishment of permanent benches of the high court in western and southern Odisha be taken by the Government of India to fulfil the aspirations of the people of these regions,” Patnaik said.