Jorhat, Feb. 14: The All-Assam Lawyers’ Association has decided to push for a Supreme Court bench in the state and a Gauhati High Court bench in Upper Assam.

Resolutions to this effect will be adopted at the delegates’ session of the ninth biennial conference of the association, to be held here on February 21-23.

R.P. Dhar, secretary of the Jorhat Bar Association, told newspersons here today that a Supreme Court bench in Guwahati would be beneficial to all the states of the Northeast.

“Several states of the country have benches of the apex court. So why not one in Assam?” he asked.

Dhar also made a case for a bench of the Gauhati High Court in any Upper Assam district.

He said it was inconvenient for residents of the Upper Assam districts to travel all the way to the state capital to move the high court.

Another demand by the lawyers’ association is to set up family courts in all district headquarters. The state has only one such court — in Guwahati — at present.

“Since family-related cases are mounting, it is necessary to set up such courts in every district,” Dhar said.

The association has long been seeking a vigilance committee at the district level to check corruption.

A seminar on the role of lawyers in upholding the law will be held on February 22. Justice A.H. Saikia of the Gauhati High Court and former advocate-general of Nagaland, P.G. Barooah, will attend the seminar.

A.R. Borthakur, advocate-general of Nagaland, will deliver the keynote address, while the chief justice of the Gauhati High Court, P.P. Naolekar, will inaugurate the open session.

The chairman of the N.E. Bar Council will be the chief guest at the seminar.