Daijiworld Media Network - Guwahati
Guwahati, Jan 11: The Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) on Sunday launched a four-hour strike and boycott to protest the laying of the foundation stone of the proposed new Gauhati High Court complex in North Guwahati, scheduled to be inaugurated by the Chief Justice of India.
The new high court complex is proposed as part of a judicial township at Rangmahal in North Guwahati, where Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant is slated to lay the foundation stone later in the day. In protest, members of the GHCBA refrained from attending the ceremony and observed a hunger strike from 10 am to 2 pm.
“We are completely against shifting the high court from its present location, which lies at the heart of the city. None of our members will attend the foundation stone ceremony,” GHCBA vice president Santanu Borthakur told PTI.
Earlier, the bar association had staged hunger strikes on Thursday and Friday in front of the old Gauhati High Court building. The GHCBA has consistently opposed the relocation of the court complex from its existing site at Uzan Bazar on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra.
Borthakur alleged that the state government had unilaterally decided to go ahead with the project despite objections from stakeholders. “Once the foundation stone is laid, we are considering challenging the move in court. Our executive committee will meet in the coming days to decide the future course of action,” he said.
The Assam government plans to construct the judicial township at Rangmahal over 148 bighas (around 49 acres) of land. In November last year, the state cabinet approved an allocation of Rs 479 crore for the first phase of the project.
Meanwhile, Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia on Saturday criticised the GHCBA’s protest, alleging a “nexus with political parties” behind the agitation.
The Gauhati High Court currently functions from the historic complex at Uzan Bazar, which includes an old heritage building and a modern multi-storey structure inaugurated a few years ago. Both buildings face each other across Mahatma Gandhi Road and are connected by an underground tunnel equipped with escalators.
The state government has maintained that the relocation is part of a broader plan to develop the Brahmaputra riverfront, for which the existing high court land is required. A new convention centre is also being constructed adjacent to the old high court complex along the riverbank.
Despite these plans, the GHCBA has reiterated its demand for an immediate halt to the project, stating that shifting the high court from the city centre is not in the interest of the legal fraternity or the public at large.