High Court Bar Association to intensify stir
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, December 03 2012: The High Court Bar Association, Manipur has decided to intensify its ongoing stir in a meeting held today.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, association President N Kumarjit said, the association decided to continue its stir to refrain from Court proceedings until a clear-cut assurance on their demands is given.

The stir commenced on November 8 demanding non-absorption of Judges from the Common Gauhati High Court (High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh) with exception to Judges elevated from Manipur in the setting up of a separate High Court of Manipur.

The association also demanded that atleast seven Judges be appointed for the new High Court.

N Kumarjit said that today's meeting also decided to apprise Chief Minister O Ibobi to present the issue to the Prime Minister and Union Law Minister.

The meeting also resolved to submit representations to the authorities concerned not to accept the recommendations from the Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court regarding appointment of Judges and fixing of the number of Judges for the High Court of Manipur as he failed to feel the pulse of the High Court Bar Association, Manipur and alleged that he is not taking interest in the affairs of Manipur, acting as if he is not the Chief Justice of Manipur, takes no interest in holding Courts at Imphal Bench and that he is not taking steps for the welfare of the people of Manipur.

Furthermore, the meeting also resolved to set up a Sub-Committee in order to intensify the ongoing stir and highlight the new developments in the media.

Talking more about their demands N Kumarjit said, the Gauhati High Court is the High Court of the seven States of the North East region which gives separate Judgeship quotas to all the States.

Assam has 11 Judges, Nagaland and Meghalaya have two Judges each, Manipur has four while Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh have one Judge each, he added.

The Senior Advocate further said that absorption of Judges from the Common High Court would undermine the rights of the Bar and Subordinate Judiciary of Manipur.

Although, Assam's quota is 11, the State now has 15 Judges, Kumarjit said, two more Judges for the State have been planned to be appointed.

On the otherhand, Manipur currently has only two Judges although the State's quota is four, he added.

Kumarjit said that High Court Bar Association, Manipur has nothing to say on the transfer of Judges.

Manipur had around 18,000 pending cases at some point of time in the past, Kumarjit said and adding that with the appointment of four Judges between 2007 and 2011, 16,922 cases were disposed.

The Imphal Bench currently has about 5000 pending cases, he added.

There were only around 100 pending cases when the Gauhati High Court was set up in 1949 with seven Judges, he said adding that Sikkim High Court which has three Judges had around 20-30 pending cases at the time of its establishment.

As such, it is reasonable to have seven Judges in the new High Court of Manipur, Kumarjit opined.

He added that a team of the Bar had called on Union Law Minister Dr Ashwini Kumar last month in this regard.

However, today's meeting observed that the Minister's mere assurance to 'look into the matter' does not satisfy the Bar to suspend the stir, he added.

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