KAT Bench Delay: Hubli-Dharwad Advocates Prepare for Struggle
DHARWAD: The stage is set for another round of struggle for the establishment of Karnataka Administrative Tribunal (KAT) Bench for North Karnataka in Dharwad.
At a special general body meeting of the Dharwad Bar Association and Advocates Association of Dharwad High Court it was resolved to restart the agitation.
Following rumours about the uncertainty over the establishment of the KAT Bench in Dharwad, advocates staged a protest and boycotted court proceedings seeking that government fulfil its promise given in February.
Advocates Association of Dharwad High Court president B D Hiremath is camping in Bangalore along with his colleagues to pressure the government.
Hiremath told Express that he met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Law Minister T B Jayachandra and other officials and members of the Legislative Assembly to inform them about the need to establish a KAT Bench in Dharwad.
“The government’s assurance ended our hunger strike in February but now it seems we have to redraw our strategy on the lines of the movement seeking a High Court bench in Dharwad, in order to fulfil our six-year-old demand,” he said.
No action has been taken despite repeated pleas since 2008 and even the registrar of KAT writing to the government on August 2, 2012, communicating its chairman and members’ consent to establish a bench, Hiremath said.
The Dharwad Bar Association’s appeal to the Chief Secretary in this regard has also got no response, he added.
The KAT Bench at Dharwad will help government employees of North Karnataka to save spending on travelling to Bangalore for cases related to their promotions, suspension, dismissal, transfer and charges of irregularities among others, he pointed out.
There is no dearth of infrastructure for the Bench at Dharwad and the government must expedite the process in order to help find solutions to pending cases before KAT, he said.
‘Set Up KAT in Gulbarga’
Yadgir: Members of the Advocates Bar Association boycotted court proceedings on Monday, demanding a Bench of the Karnataka Administrative Tribunal in Gulbarga. Association president Venkatesh Kusumoorthi said the government is planning to set up the Bench in Belgaum.