The permanent building of the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of Calcutta High Court will be inaugurated on July 12, senior officials of the district administration said on Friday.

Since 2019, the circuit bench has been functioning out of a temporary building, which is an erstwhile bungalow of the Jalpaiguri zilla parishad on Station Road. After the bench opened, the Bengal government, along with the high court, took the initiative to construct a permanent building and set up accommodations and allied infrastructure on a 40-acre plot located near Paharpur More off NH27 in Jalpaiguri.

The government spent around ₹500 crore on the infrastructure.

“The permanent building will be inaugurated on July 12. Dignitaries from the judiciary and the state government will be present at the event,” Jalpaiguri district magistrate Shama Parveen said on Friday.

Parveen held a meeting with representatives of bar associations and administrative and police officers on Friday to draw up plans for the inauguration.

A joint secretary, an assistant secretary, the protocol officer of the state judicial department, and the registrar of the circuit bench were also present at the meeting.

Representatives of the Calcutta High Court Jalpaiguri Bar Association and the Jalpaiguri Bar Association welcomed the announcement but simultaneously flagged two demands about the circuit bench.

“It is great that the permanent building of the circuit bench will be opened. But simultaneously, we want a permanent bench of Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri,” said Abhijit Sarkar, secretary of both the associations.

He has said cases in the districts of Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Darjeeling, Cooch Behar and Kalimpong are being heard here since 2019.

“We want the cases of Malda, North Dinajpur and South Dinajpur to be heard here as well. This will largely help the litigants of north Bengal,” Sarkar added.

Sources in the administration said the Chief Justice of India, the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court and other judges of the high court were likely to attend the
inauguration.

“The chief minister and some central and state ministers might also be present. Today, we also discussed their security and related details,” said Khandbahale Umesh Ganpath, the superintendent of police of Jalpaiguri.