Sambalpur: Western Odisha High Court Bench Issue back in the limelight again
The Union Minister’s comments provided hope and the Central shifted the blame to the state governments
Bhubaneswar: With the general elections just a few months away, the High Court bench issue has revived in Western Odisha. The discussion started with a comment by Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal. However, the Ministry of Law clarified that some media outlets are creating unnecessary controversy by misrepresenting the minister’s comments. Along with this, the incident of the High Court bench issue has also been mentioned in it and the blame has been put on the state government. Union Law Minister attended a program in Bhubaneswar today when media representatives asked about the issue of the Western Odisha High Court Bench. The minister said the state government must send the complete proposal to the high court bench with the concurrence of the chief justice of the concerned state high court. It also requires the consent of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. However, the central government along with the high court bench has started the e-court system. Virtual facilities are available in it. E-courtwork is going very well in Odisha. As all the facilities of the High Court are available in e-Court, High Court Bench claims will no longer exist in the future.
However, the Union Minister said that the High Court Bench will not be established in West Odisha and the news was broadcast daily in various media. The state BJP was also in trouble. In the evening, a clarification was issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice. It was stated that the Chief Minister of Odisha had written letters to the Central Government on September 5, 2018, and January 11, 2019, regarding the issue of the High Court Bench. On January 12, 2019, the then-Union Law Minister wrote a reply to the Chief Minister. He asked to send a full report with the opinion of the Odisha High Court and the details of the place where the bench will be established. However, the state government remained silent without any further efforts in this direction. The state government has no interest in having a permanent bench of the High Court in Western Odisha.
While the process of establishing High Court Benches is taking time, the Virtual Centers of High Courts established under the e-Court Project of the Government of India are providing direct access to the High Courts to all litigants and lawyers through e-filing, e-payment, and virtual hearings. Odisha High Court is running 30 virtual centers in all 30 districts of the state. The ministry has said that the Odisha government has sent a complete proposal and the central government will consider the proposal for setting up a permanent bench in West Odisha. But the Odisha government is pushing back. The state government constituted the Sir Paul Commission to look into various aspects of the establishment of High Court Benches. On March 31, 2014, the commission submitted its report to the government. But it has not been made public till now. What exactly is the Odisha government trying to hide?
