Guwahati: Members of the Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) staged a four-hour strike on Sunday to protest the foundation-laying ceremony of a proposed judicial township at Amingaon in North Guwahati.
The new complex, part of a larger judicial city planned at Rangmahal, is set to house the Gauhati High Court.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant was scheduled to lay the foundation stone later in the day.
“We are firmly opposed to relocating the High Court from its current location in central Guwahati. Our hunger strike, from 10 am to 2 pm, is a statement that none of our members will participate in the event,” said GHCBA vice-president Santanu Borthakur.
The Bar Association has consistently opposed moving the court, claiming the decision was taken unilaterally by the government. “With the foundation stone being laid today, we are considering legal action to challenge this decision. Our executive committee will decide the next steps in the coming days,” Borthakur added.
The GHCBA has previously organized similar protests, including a four-hour hunger strike outside the old High Court building on Thursday and Friday. Meanwhile, Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia on Saturday accused the association of having political motivations behind the demonstrations.
The state government plans to build the judicial township at Rangmahal on nearly 49 acres (148 bighas) of land. The first phase of the project, approved in November last year, has an estimated cost of Rs 479 crore.
Currently, the Gauhati High Court is located in Uzan Bazar, on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, featuring both a historic building and a modern multi-storey complex connected by an underground tunnel with escalators.
The government intends to redevelop the riverfront, which requires the High Court land, and a new convention center is under construction adjacent to the existing complex.