North Bengal is likely to get its Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court soon, officials at the State law Ministry said adding Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may “in all possibility inaugurate the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench in the second week of this month.”
To be housed temporarily at the District Board Dak Bungalow the Bench is likely to be headed by a single judge sources said.
“The dak bungalow building is ready to be used to house the new High Court building. Perhaps the Chief Minister will inaugurate it this month, and in all possibility the second week of September,” the official said adding hurriedly though: “things are being finalised.”
The people of North Bengal had for long been demanding a Circuit Bench either in Siliguri or Jalpaiguri some 30 km away. Finally the State Government and the High Court decided in favour of the old colonial town that was once a virtual headquarter of the British tea planters with huge colonial bungalows amid awe-inspiring tea plantations frequented often by elephants, tigers and leopards.
While the tigers have dwindled since, the leopards and pachyderms still continue to visit the vicinity of the tea town with alarming frequency.
Four senior Judges of Calcutta High Court including Chief Justice Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya had earlier inspected the facility in company of State law Minister Malay Ghatak and Tourism Minister Gautam Deb. The joint team had reportedly expressed satisfaction with the facilities, sources said adding a report in this regard would soon be placed.
The Chief Minister and the then Chief Justice J N Patel of Calcutta High Court had laid the foundation stone for the Circuit Bench six years ago in September 2012 on the 40 acres of land provided by the State government.
Before the main building comes up at the given land the Court will function at the Dak Bungalow on the Station Road, sources said.
If it gets functional the new Court will benefit more than two crore people from seven districts of Coochbehar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling-Siliguri, North Dinajpur, South Dinajpur and Malda reducing the distance between justice seekers and the State’s highest court of law by about 700 km to the maximum.
The final push would come after the President of India makes a formal notification for setting up and inauguration of the Circuit Bench, officials said.