Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha member Hemananda Biswal on Wednesday sought the intervention of Governor SC Jamir in the Western Odisha impasse over the demand for permanent bench of the Orissa High Court.
A delegation led by Biswal met the Governor at Raj Bhawan and requested him to advise Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to send a proposal to the Centre for establishment of a bench of the High Court in Western Odisha without delay.
All the Government offices in Western Odisha including the office of the Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Northern Division are unable to function due to the ongoing agitation of the lawyers of nine districts.
The people of Western Odisha have extended their support to the the demand and expressed solidarity by boycotting the elections to the urban local bodies. The boycott of election has created a serious constitutional crisis while the closure of Government offices has paralysed the administration, Biswal told a media conference here.
Though the issue was debated in the Assembly many times, the State Government is not making any effort to resolve the crisis.
Replying to a question, the former chief minister said it is difficult to study the mindset of the Chief Minister on the issue as the ruling BJD has also boycotted the elections to the ULBs.
Biswal said he had written twice to the Law Ministry requesting to consider the demand of the Central Action Committee of the Western Odisha Bar Association for a permanent bench of the Odisha High Court.
“In two separate letters, the then Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Salman Khurshid informed me that setting up a bench of the High Court is considered only if a complete proposal in terms of Section 51(2) of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 is received from the State Government with the consent of the Chief Justice of the High Court and the Governor,” Biswal said.
The State Government is yet to send a proposal to the Centre even after repeated reminders, he claimed. Asked about the headquarters of the proposed High Court bench, Biswal left it to the State Government to decide.
Several advocates who are members of Senate and Syndicate of Sambalpur University were part of the delegation.