SAMBALPUR: Former Sambalpur MP, Bhawani Shankar Hota on Friday slammed the government for delay in establishing a permanent high court bench in western Odisha.
Addressing mediapersons here on Friday, Hota said people of western Odisha are prepared to launch a decisive movement peacefully as they consider denial of a high court bench is part of overall neglect of western Odisha. “People of western Odisha will now fight for the bench without resorting to strikes, cease works bandhs. The struggle of the people is going on for more than 40 years now”, he said.
Hota though former chief minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik had sought the opinion of the Orissa High Court on the issue but the latter has been silent for the last around 11 years. Similarly, the Union Law Ministry is also mum on the issue. He said in the meantime, an argument surfaced that due to advancements in technology, hearings can be held in digital mode through a virtual court and there is no need for a separate bench. “Such an argument is meaningless for the people of western Odisha where the literacy level is less than in advanced districts of Odisha. I have presented several examples where hearings through digital mode are not feasible for counterarguments in many cases,” he said.
Citing the example of Maharashtra, Hota said, “There is more than one high court benches in many states and there is no reason why western Odisha should be deprived of it. There are already three high court permanent benches in Maharashtra (Nagpur, Aurangabad and Goa) and yet a sitting Judge of the Supreme Court of India Justice SR Gavai batted for a fourth bench in the state while speaking at a function in the last week. He demanded the fourth bench at Kolhapur.” Convenor of People’s Forum for High Court Bench in western Odisha Gyanendra Behera and co-convenor from Sonepur Kishore Hota said the forum has planned to bring together representatives from all districts of western Odisha and write letters to state and Central governments besides the Chief Justice of Odisha, pressing for the demand.