Agra lawyers want high court bench

Agra, Aug 18 (IANS) Lawyers in Agra are demanding a bench of the Allahabad High Court in the Taj city, on the basis of a report by a commission that had favoured setting up of a bench here for the whole of western Uttar Pradesh.

However, lawyers of the Allahabad High Court will Sunday meet Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal and Chief Justice of India Justice P. Sathasivam to oppose any move to split or dilute the jurisdictional power of the high court.

Lawyers of the Lucknow bench are already in an agitational mode, demanding extension of the high court's jurisdiction.

This has been vehemently opposed by the Allahabad lawyers, who now have support from their counterparts in Banda, Jhansi and Bundelkhand.

A three-member commission headed by Jaswant Singh, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of India, was appointed in September 1981 to decide the location of a new bench in western Uttar Pradesh.

In its final report after years of deliberation and visits, the commission concluded in 1985: "Taking into consideration the totality of the conditions and circumstances peculiar to Agra, we find ourselves impelled to agree with the aforesaid views of the eminent judges and others that Agra would be a suitable place for the location of the bench."

A conference of lawyers including from Aligarh is being organised Monday to raise the pitch for the movement ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Though the movement has continued in fits and starts for the past three decades, it has failed to lead to any clarity or commitment from the government.

The Samajwadi Party was a great supporter of the Agra bench when in opposition, but is now dragging its feet on splitting the authority of the Allahabad High Court.

Meanwhile, the union government has sought the opinion of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and the Allahabad High Court chief justice on the creation of a high court bench in western Uttar Pradesh.

A letter has been sent in this connection by Union Law Minister Kapil Sibal to the state government.

Rashtriya Lok Dal MP Jayant Chowdhary and his father, Union Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh, met the law minister some time back to demand a bench of the high court in Meerut.

Lawyers from 21 districts of western Uttar Pradesh have been staging a stir in favour of a high court bench in the region.