Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Bar Association will observe a day’s peaceful ceasework on Friday, in support of its demand to shift the Orissa High Court from Cuttack to the state capital.
In view of the ceasework, the Bar Association has requested the District & Sessions Judge, Khurda, and other courts concerned not to pass any adverse orders against advocates and litigants in case of non-appearance.
Demanding the shifting of the Orissa HC to Bhubaneswar, the Bar Association had written to President Ram Nath Kovind last year. In the memorandum, it said, “Upon partition of Bengal and creation of Bihar, a High Court was established at Patna having jurisdiction over the areas which now comprise Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. Immediately thereafter, for the first time in the history of India, a Circuit High Court was started at Cuttack as a part of the High Court at Patna for the convenience of people.”
“It is to mention here that Odisha achieved full statehood on April 1, 1936. Subsequently from the Circuit Bench, the seat of regular Orissa High Court was decided to be situated at Cuttack for convenient functioning as Cuttack was the state capital, where the Assembly and Secretariat were established and functioning at that time,” it further said.
“After shifting of the capital from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar, it was felt necessary by the state government and the people of Odisha for shifting of the High Court from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar. For which the state government kept adequate extent of land earmarked in Bhubaneswar for construction of the High Court building to facilitate its shifting from Cuttack. All successive governments though substantiated to the views and proposal of shifting of the High Court from Cuttack to Bhubaneswar, did not take any tangible steps to give effect to such shifting and in providing funds and making sincere endeavour at the administrative level,” it said.
