Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said in the Assembly on Saturday that a permanent bench of the High Court for Western Odisha is a long standing demand of the people of the region. The State Government is sensitive to the demand, he added.
Naveen said the State Government had recommended the case for having benches in Western and Southern Odisha several times to the High Court earlier.
The Chief Minister said the State Government had subsequently constituted the CR Pal Commission to examine the issue based on Justice Jaswant Singh Commission report.
Stating that the commission has been given extension up to December 31, 2013, Naveen said after Saturday’s meeting, the State Government has decided to request the commission to submit its report within 60 days.
Insofar as the demand for making a recommendation on this issue to the Centre is concerned, the State Government has been quite clear in its mind that benches of HC should be established in Western and other parts of Odisha, Naveen said.
The Chief Minister assured that the State Government will recommend to the Centre the setting up of HC bench in consultation with the constitutional experts at the earliest. He also made it clear that recommendation by the State Government to the Centre on the issue is not linked to the submission of report by the C R Pal Commission. It can be sent even before that, he said.
“In the light of Saturday’s meeting, I also appealed to the members of the CAC to call off their strike in different Government offices of western Odisha and allow their normal functioning. I also appealed to them not to resort to any other agitation methods in this regard,” Naveen said.