Personal interests not grounds for opposing new infra: CJI Surya Kant

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant expressed surprise at the opposition by members of the Gauhati High Court Bar Association to the new integrated Judicial Court Complex in Assam’s North Guwahati area, the foundation for which he laid on Sunday. He maintained that “personal vested interest should not be a valid grounds” for resisting the development of new infrastructure.

“The integrated Judicial Court Complex is envisaged to match aspirations of the future,” the CJI said after laying the foundation stone for the facility at Rangmahal in North Guwahati. As the head of the country’s judiciary, Justice Kant stressed that he is bound to cater to the needs of those coming into the profession.

The CJI said that he was surprised when he learnt that the Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) is opposing the new integrated court complex, which will also house the Gauhati High Court. “Those opposing the new court complex are either ill-informed or not realising the needs of new members of the bar. Personal vested interests should not be valid grounds for opposing development of infrastructure for the future,” the CJI added.

The GHCBA has been opposing the relocation of the High Court complex to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra River from the heart of Guwahati city.

He said the site for the new complex is ‘strategically positioned’ and will provide all facilities under one roof.

The new campus, being built at Rangmahal, will also house the Gauhati High Court, which serves as the High Court for Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal, judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts, and several dignitaries were also present on the occasion.

A few months ago, protesting on the objections of the Bar Association, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Advocate General Devajit Lon Saikia had resigned their memberships from the Bar Association. Envisioned as a modern judicial city, the new complex will be developed over 148 bighas (around 49 acres) with a phase-I cost of around Rs 479 crore, officials said. The new complex is meant to decongest the Guwahati city and the new complex is hardly 12 kilometres from the current complex. Chief Minister Sarma said that after the inauguration of the new bridge, hardly 20 minutes journey to reach the new complex and certain advocates are unnecessarily creating problems.   The new complex will house the principal seat of the Gauhati High Court, district court buildings, and High Court office and bar buildings.

Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Supreme Court Justices Ujjal Bhuyan, Sandeep Mehta, N Kotiswar Singh, Vijay Bishnoi, and High Court Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar also attended the function.