Gauhati High Court lawyers oppose relocation of court complex to Rangmahal

SILCHAR: Over 1,300 lawyers associated with the Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) are protest against the Assam government’s proposal to relocate the high court from its existing Uzanbazar campus to Rangmahal in north Guwahati across the Brahmaputra river.

The association said the plan would severely affect access to justice for thousands of litigants across the region. “The present campus is located in the heart of Guwahati with established transport links, chambers, photocopy facilities, clerical support and residential access, an ecosystem that has evolved over decades and cannot be recreated overnight at a new site,” GHCBA president Kamal Nayan Choudhury said.

Choudhury also said the number of cases in the high court had come down in recent years, and there was no urgent need for a larger campus at present. “The government and the High Court did not consult us before taking this decision, which will affect us the most,” he said.

The high court not only has jurisdiction over Assam but also Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram.

The renewed protest comes against the backdrop of chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s announcement that the foundation-laying ceremony of the proposed judicial complex would be held on Sunday morning.

Choudhury said over 1,300 members of the association’s lawyers opposed the high court’s shift in a recent poll conducted by the association and only 150-odd lawyers were in support.

GHCBA members observed a six-hour hunger strike on Thursday, which was repeated on Friday. “On Sunday, we will again go on hunger strike for four hours, and our protests will continue,” he said.

Lawyers also questioned the logic of establishing a new judicial township instead of upgrading and expanding the existing campus through vertical construction or acquisition of adjacent land. According to them, modernisation within the present premises would have been less expensive and more convenient.

The Bar Association said its agitation will continue through symbolic demonstrations, discussions with authorities and outreach to former judges and constitutional experts.