Assam’s Advocate General Devajit Saikia has resigned from the Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) following differences over the Government’s decision to shift the existing High Court premises, a move opposed by the lawyers’ body. Saikia is also Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
Saikia, in his resignation letter to the president of the bar association on Friday, maintained his decision is in the “greater interest of the present and the future generation of lawyers, and, for the overall betterment of the justice delivery system”. The GHCBA has been opposing the relocation of the high court complex to Rangmahal on the northern banks of the Brahmaputra River from the existing place, the heart of Guwahati city.
“Personally also, I, without any hesitation, support the decision and process to shift the present High Court premise to the proposed new location, which is not only the call of the hour due to various deficiencies and shortfalls in the existing infrastructure but also will provide a much better working ambience to the new generation and upcoming lawyers while mitigating all existing deficiencies,” Saikia wrote in his letter. “Now, it is quite apparent that while discharging duty in my official or constitutional as well as in my personal capacity on the issue of shifting of the Gauhati High Court premise, I foresee numerous situations in which there may arise conflict of interest due to the diametrically opposite stands of the Gauhati High Court and Government of Assam on one side, while GHCBA on the other,” he added. It has claimed that the decision to shift the campus was a unilateral one and “the relocation to a remote area lacking adequate infrastructure will significantly impede the efficiency of legal proceedings and adversely affect litigants and legal professionals”. Referring to the bar association’s opposition to the proposed shifting, Saikia said in the letter that as the Advocate General of the state, he has to stand by the decision of the high court and state government over the matter.
He maintained that the decision to relocate the premises aims to provide a much better and more conducive environment to the legal fraternity in the future.
Extending his support to the move, the senior advocate said the relocation of the premises “is not only the call of the hour due to various deficiencies and shortfalls in the existing infrastructure but also it will provide a much better-working ambience to the new generation and upcoming lawyers while mitigating all existing deficiencies”. With conflict of interest likely to arise “due to diametrically opposite stands” of the Gauhati High Court and state government on one side and the GHCBA on the other, Saikia has tendered his resignation from membership of the bar association. At present, the Gauhati HC is located in the Uzan Bazar area of central Guwahati on the southern banks of the Brahmaputra. It has a historical building, while a state-of-the-art multi-crore modern multi-storey structure was constructed and inaugurated a few years ago.
Both buildings are located face-to-face on two sides of Mahatma Gandhi Road and connected through an underground tunnel. The Assam Government is seeking to develop the riverfront of Brahmaputra, for which it requires to acquire the High Court land.
