STAFF REPORTER
GUWAHATI, Jan 10: Tensions between the Assam government and the Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) over the proposed relocation of the high court to North Guwahati escalated further on Saturday, with lawyers announcing a hunger strike even as the state prepares to lay the foundation stone of the new campus on Sunday.
Members of the GHCBA said six-hour hunger strikes have already been observed over the past two days outside the existing high court building.
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The association has now decided to continue the protest on Sunday, with lawyers planning to sit on a hunger strike from 10 am to 2 pm.
The bar body reiterated its firm opposition to shifting the court complex to North Guwahati and maintained its appeal to members to stay away from the foundation stone-laying ceremony.
The new high court complex is proposed as part of a judicial township at Rangmahal in North Guwahati.
The foundation stone is scheduled to be laid by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant.
Union Law and Justice Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and several Supreme Court judges are also expected to attend the event.
Addressing a press conference, Advocate General Devajit Saikia questioned the motives behind the opposition, alleging that those spearheading the protest were driven by political considerations and had links with political parties.
He also referred to the proximity of the upcoming Assembly elections, though he declined to elaborate further.
Saikia, who resigned from the GHCBA in March last year over the same issue, rejected the arguments put forward by the association against the relocation.
Chief minister Sarma, a former practising lawyer who entered electoral politics in 2001, had also relinquished his GHCBA membership in April amid the controversy.
The advocate general described concerns such as distance to the new campus as subjective and said issues like compensation related to land acquisition could be clarified through official channels.
On the claim that lawyers were not consulted before deciding on the shift, Saikia said there was no requirement to seek the opinion of advocates’ bodies for such decisions.
He further denied allegations that the state government had unilaterally decided to relocate the high court, stating that the move was based on a resolution of the full court taken in 2023 during the tenure of then Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta.
Saikia also cited a GHCBA resolution from November 2022 in which the association had stated it had no objection to all courts being housed in a single campus.
Accusing the GHCBA of projecting a misleading narrative, Saikia said he would welcome legal proceedings on the issue, as it would place all facts in the public domain.
He added that the Advocate General’s office condemned attempts to trivialise the matter and expressed gratitude to the high court for taking a timely decision on relocation.
The GHCBA has consistently opposed the proposed shift of the high court from its present location in Uzan Bazar, in the heart of Guwahati on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, to the river’s northern bank.
The state government plans to develop a judicial township at Rangmahal, spread over 129 bighas, or more than 42.5 acres.
In November last year, the state cabinet approved an allocation of Rs 479 crore for the first phase of the project.
Earlier, the bar association had called for an immediate suspension of the project, citing the interests of stakeholders and the general public.
The Gauhati High Court currently functions from a historic building in Uzan Bazar, alongside a modern multi-storey structure inaugurated a few years ago.
The two buildings, located on opposite sides of Mahatma Gandhi Road, are connected by an underground tunnel equipped with escalators.
The Assam government has said the relocation is also linked to its plans for developing the Brahmaputra riverfront, which would require acquisition of the existing high court land.
