By NE NOW NEWS
Guwahati: The demand for a permanent Bench of the Gauhati High Court in Barak Valley has gained fresh momentum after the High Court Bench Demand Implementation Committee’s Cachar district unit submitted a 112-page memorandum to the Chief Justice seeking urgent reconsideration of the issue.
Submitted as a continuation of an earlier representation made on January 12 this year, the memorandum was signed by senior advocate Dharmananda Deb on behalf of the committee.
The representation details the geographical, infrastructural and financial difficulties faced by litigants from Barak Valley and Dima Hasao in accessing judicial services in Guwahati.
According to the memorandum, litigants from southern Assam often have to travel nearly 350 to 400 kilometres to attend proceedings before the Gauhati High Court and coordinate with lawyers handling their cases, placing a heavy financial burden on economically weaker sections and rural residents.
The memorandum also highlights recurring floods, landslides and fragile transport and communication infrastructure in the region, which frequently disrupt travel and delay judicial proceedings.
Invoking Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, the committee argued that accessible and effective justice forms an integral part of the fundamental rights to equality and personal liberty.
It also cited several Supreme Court judgments to contend that decentralisation of judicial infrastructure is essential to ensuring substantive constitutional justice.
The committee further pointed out that the Assam government had already sought the opinion of the Gauhati High Court on the issue, indicating that the matter remains under active administrative and judicial consideration.
The memorandum also referred to earlier parliamentary interventions supporting the demand, including discussions in the Lok Sabha in 2012 and a Rajya Sabha intervention in 1991 by former Union Law Minister Subramanian Swamy.
According to the representation, the combined population of Cachar, Sribhumi, Hailakandi and Dima Hasao exceeds 4.7 million.
It further stated that over 600 pending cases, along with more than 4,000 cases originating from Barak Valley, remained pending between January and March this year, strengthening the argument for decentralised judicial access in southern Assam.
Through the memorandum, the committee urged the Chief Justice to reconsider earlier views on the matter and facilitate the establishment of a permanent Bench in Silchar.
Drawing comparisons with the permanent Bench of the Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri, the memorandum argued that Barak Valley possesses equally compelling demographic, administrative and logistical grounds for setting up a permanent Bench of the Gauhati High Court in Silchar.