Lok Sabha Question No. 2755 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-10
Subject: Setting up of Benches of High Court
Ministry: LAW AND JUSTICE
Asked by: Ramcharan Bohra, Gopal Jee Thakur

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF LAW AND JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2755

## TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY, THE 10.07.2019

## Setting up of Benches of High Court

†2755.  SHRI RAMCHARAN BOHRA SHRI GOPAL JEE THAKUR:

Will the Minister of LAW AND JUSTICE be pleased to state :

- (a)  the  norms  of  procedure  fixed  for  setting  up  benches  of  any  high
- court;
- (b)  the  details  of  high  court  benches  and  their  jurisdiction,  State/UTwise;
- (c)  the  details  of  requests  received  from  the  States  for  setting  up  a separate high courts and benches, State-wise including Darbhanga in Bihar;
- (d)  the  details  of  hindrances  in  their  establishment  along  with  the reasons for delay therein and the action taken in this regard; and
- (e) the time by which separate high courts/benches are likely to be set
- up in States?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF LAW AND JUSTICE, COMMUNICATIONS AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD)

(a)  to  (e):  High  Court  Benches  are  established  in  accordance  with  the recommendations made by the Jaswant Singh Commission and judgment pronounced by the Apex Court in W.P.(C) No.379 of 2000 and after due consideration of a complete proposal from the State Government which has to  provide  necessary  expenditure  &  infrastructural  facilities  and  the  Chief Justice of the concerned High Court who is required to look after the daytoday administration of the High Court . The proposal should also have the consent of the Governor of the concerned State.

A statement showing Principal Seat of High Courts along with their Jurisdiction  and  Benches  of  High  Courts  State-wise  is  at Annexure-I . Requests for establishment of High Court Benches in different parts of the country  have  been  received  from  various  sources  including  some  State Governments from time to time. However, at present there is no complete proposal from any State, pending for consideration of the Central Government including the State of Bihar for establishment of Patna High Court Bench at Darbhanga. A statement showing the request received from various States and their status is at Annexure-II.

The Government of Haryana has been requesting for establishment of a separate High Court for the State in Chandigarh. The Government of Punjab  has  different  views  in  the  matter.  In  the  absence  of  consensus between the State Governments, no final decision has been taken.

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## Annexure-I

A  statement  showing  the  High  Courts  and  their  Benches  Statewise/UT-wise  as  referred  to  in  reply  to  part  (a)  to  (e)  of  Lok  Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2755 to be answered on 10.07.2019

|   Sl. No. | High Court(States)       | Principal Seat   | Jurisdiction                                         | Permanent Bench and Date from which the Bench began functioning                                                      |
|-----------|--------------------------|------------------|------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Allahabad(Uttar Pradesh) | Allahabad        | Uttar Pradesh                                        | Lucknow (01.07.1948)                                                                                                 |
|         2 | Andhra Pradesh           | Amaravati        | Andhra Pradesh                                       | -                                                                                                                    |
|         3 | Telangana                | Hyderabad        | Telangana                                            | -                                                                                                                    |
|         4 | Bombay(Maharashtra)      | Mumbai           | Maharashtra; Goa; Daman & Diu; Dadra & Nagar Haveli; | Nagpur (01.05.1960), Panaji (01.07.1948), Aurangabad (27.08.1984)                                                    |
|         5 | Calcutta(West Bengal)    | Kolkata          | West Bengal & Andaman & Nicobar Islands              | (i) Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri vide Presidential Order dated 7 th February, 2019. (ii) Circuit Bench at Port Blair. |
|         6 | Chattisgarh              | Bilaspur         | Chattisgarh                                          | -                                                                                                                    |
|         7 | Delhi(NCT of Delhi)      | New Delhi        | NCT of Delhi                                         | -                                                                                                                    |
|         8 | Gauhati(Assam)           | Guwahati         | Assam,                                               | Kohima                                                                                                               |

|    |                    |                   | Nagaland, Mizoram & Arunachal Pradesh   | (10.02.1990), Aizawl (05.07.1990) , Itanagar (12.08.2000)   |
|----|--------------------|-------------------|-----------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------------------|
|  9 | Gujarat            | Sola (Ahmedabad)  | Gujarat                                 | -                                                           |
| 10 | Himachal Pradesh   | Shimla            | Himachal Pradesh                        | -                                                           |
| 11 | Jammu & Kashmir    | Jammu & Srinagar  | Jammu & Kashmir                         | -                                                           |
| 12 | Jharkhand          | Ranchi            | Jharkhand                               | -                                                           |
| 13 | Karnataka          | Bangalore         | Karnataka                               | Dharwad (24.08.2013) , Gulbarga (31.08.2013)                |
| 14 | Kerala             | Ernakulam (Kochi) | Kerala & Lakshadweep Islands            | -                                                           |
| 15 | Madhya Pradesh     | Jabalpur          | Madhya Pradesh                          | Gwalior (01.11.1956), Indore (01.11.1956)                   |
| 16 | Madras(Tamil Nadu) | Chennai           | Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry                | Madurai (24.07.2004)                                        |
| 17 | Orissa             | Cuttack           | Orissa                                  | -                                                           |
| 18 | Patna(Bihar)       | Patna             | Bihar                                   | -                                                           |
| 19 | Punjab & Haryana   | Chandigarh        | Punjab, Haryana & Chandigarh            | -                                                           |
| 20 | Rajasthan          | Jodhpur           | Rajasthan                               | Jaipur (31.01.1977)                                         |
| 21 | Sikkim             | Gangtok           | Sikkim                                  | -                                                           |
| 22 | Uttarakhand        | Nainital          | Uttarakhand                             | -                                                           |
| 23 | Manipur            | Imphal            | Manipur                                 |                                                             |
| 24 | Meghalaya          | Shillong          | Meghalaya                               |                                                             |
| 25 | Tripura            | Agartala          | Tripura                                 |                                                             |

## Annexure-II

A statement showing list of proposals/demands received for setting up of Benches of the High Courts State-wise/UT-wise as referred to in reply to part (a) to (e) of Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 2755 to be answered on 10.07.2019

|   Sl. No. | Name of the State/High Court   | Place where Bench is proposed          | Remarks                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|-----------|--------------------------------|----------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|         1 | Orissa                         | Western and Southern regions of Odisha | The proposal for setting up Bench of Orissa High Court in Western and Southern regions by the State Government of Odisha was received on 28.09.2013. The request made by the State Government has been forwarded to the High Court for their views in October, 2013. The Chief Minister, Odisha has been requested vide letter dated 12 th January, 2019 to work out the details of the proposed Benches after consultation with the Chief Justice of Orissa High Court.                                                                      |
|         2 | Haryana/P &H                   | Southern/Western Haryana               | The proposal for setting up Bench of Punjab & Haryana High Court in Southern/Western Haryana by the State Government of Haryana was received on 17.04.2015. The request made by the State Government has been forwarded to the High Court for their views on 25.05.2015. The Hon'ble Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court has informed vide letter dated 12 th October, 2017 that a committee of four senior most Judges of the High Court has examined the issue and submitted a detailed report. The Committee has recommended that |

|    |           |       | the principal seat of Punjab & Haryana High Court at Chandigarh is aptly located and there is no need for setting up a separate Bench of this Court. This view has been endorsed by the Chief Justice of Punjab & Haryana High Court. This has been conveyed to the Chief Minister, Haryana vide letter dated 24 th January, 2018.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
|----|-----------|-------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|  3 | Jharkhand | Dumka | . The request made by the State Government for establishment of Bench of Jharkhand High Court at Dumka was received on 12.02.2015 and has been forwarded to the Jharkhand High Court for views on 17.07.2015. The Registrar General, Jharkhand High Court vide letter dated 4 th August, 2015 has intimated that the Hon'ble Chief Justice observed that the matter be kept pending for the following reasons:- 1. There are less number of Judges in the High Court; and 2. There being no suitable place for housing the Circuit Court. This has been conveyed to the Law Department, Government of Jharkhand vide letter dated 11 th August, 2015. |

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