Justice CR Pal

Cuttack, Sept. 20: The Justice C.R. Pal Commission, which is assessing the feasibility and necessity to set up Orissa High Court benches outside Cuttack, held its first sitting here today.

Deposing before the commission, a representative of the Jeypore District Bar Association opposed setting up of a high court bench in Berhampur covering 10 districts of southern Odisha.

“It was not centrally located,” said association secretary Trinath Singhlal told the commission.

The association also did not agree to formation of a zone constituting of undivided Kalahandi-Balangir-Koraput (KBK) districts and setting up of a high court bench at Bhawanipatna.

It demanded the permanent bench at any suitable place in undivided Koraput district, which was bifurcated into four districts — Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri and Rayagada — in 1992.

With a population of around 41.7 lakh, according to the 2001 census, undivided Koraput has 90 per cent scheduled tribe and scheduled caste population. It has been included in the KBK district development programme of the Centre, said Singhlal, while submitting an affidavit and documents in support of the demand for a high court bench in the region.

Due to poor financial condition, people of the region are not able to visit the high court in Cuttack to file cases, said Singhlal, who is also the convener of the Undivided Koraput Scheduled District Advocates’ Central Co-ordination and Action Committee.

The association has been on a relay strike since June 23, pressing for a high court bench in Koraput. As many as 60 organisations, associations, trade unions, clubs and chamber of commerce have supported the agitation.

The 10 districts under the revenue divisional commissioner (south) are Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Boudh, Kandhamal, Nuapada and Kalahandi.

The KBK districts, on the other hand, include Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Rayagada, Balangir, Sonepur, Nuapada and Kalahandi.

“The commission will have sittings during the next four days to give opportunity to some bar associations, who had not filed affidavits to present their points of view in support of demand for high court bench in their region,” said commission secretary Ajay Mohanty.