Puzzle” seems to have become the middle name of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. This was particularly evident when Patnaik on Saturday wrote a letter to Union law Minister Kapil Sibal for initiating steps to set up permanent Benches of the Odisha High Court in western and southern Odisha.
Patnaik seems to be completely confused over the issue as the news of his letter came even when a Judicial Commission appointed by the State Government itself under the Commission of Inquiry Act is now on the verge of submitting its report on the issue of HC Benches. The CM’s action seems more confusing because the State Government earlier this month had requested the commission to expedite its work and submit its report by the end of October.
“How can the Chief Minister sideline a Judicial Commission and make it irrelevant by writing a letter to the Centre without waiting for the commission’s findings. The commission has been working for five years on it and the Government has spent over Rs 1 crore for the purpose,” said many lawyers and legal luminaries here.
The Odisha High Court Bar Association expressed surprise over the CM’s stand on the burning issue. Boycotting the court proceedings for last two days, the members of the HC bar had met the CM in Bhubaneswar on Saturday suggesting him that there is no need to set up any Benches of the HC for the time being and had also apprised him the need to enhance the strength of judges in the HC.
But just hours after assuring the HC lawyers that the Government would increase the strength of HC judges from 22 to 27, the Chief Minister wrote a letter to the Centre ignoring the Cuttack lawyers’ concern. Indications are available that the HC lawyers are not going to digest such “humiliation” easily.
“We condemn the CM’s action, and the general body of the HC Bar Association is going to meet tomorrow to take the further course of action,” said association vice-president Milan Badu.
On the other hand, the Central Action Committee (CAC) of western Odisha lawyers protested against the HC Bar Association’s stand. The CAC and the Sambalpur Bar Association would meet at Sambalpur on Monday in this regard, informed Sureswar Mishra of the CAC.