Govt goes ahead with CBI court plan in Siliguri

VIVEK CHHETRI

The Darjeeling district court. Picture by Suman Tamang Darjeeling, March 29: The state government has decided to set up the special (CBI) court in Siliguri after having once earlier cancelled the foundation ceremony, a move which prompted the Darjeeling Bar Association to launch an agitation to protest the alleged importance being given to the plains town. The association said it would continue with its ceasework till March 31 and would ask their counterparts in Kalimpong and Kurseong to join them. The next course of action would be decided after April 1, the association said. Sources said Darjeeling district and session’s judge Subrata Mitra had again distributed invitations for the March 31 ceremony in which the foundation stone of the special CBI court would be laid by Calcutta High Court Chief Justice J.N. Patel and attended by law minister Moloy Ghatak. A new court building will also be inaugurated in Siliguri the same day. The government had to cancel the earlier ceremony scheduled for March 17 though Mitra had sent the invites, following widespread protests from lawyers here. The lawyers’ association, which has been protesting the transfer of the special (CBI) court from Darjeeling to Calcutta in 2006 and its relocation to Siliguri, met Patel in Calcutta on March 26. “The Chief Justice told our delegation that the move was an attempt to bring justice to the doorstep as the court would cater to all the people of the six north Bengal districts. He also told the delegation that Siliguri had been selected because of better infrastructure,” said Seshmani Pradhan, the vice-president of the association. The lawyers’ body argued today that if Siliguri had better infrastructure, then the decision to set up a circuit bench of Calcutta High Court in Jalpaiguri went against the Chief Justice’s argument. “We also felt that if the focus is to bring justice to the doorstep, then we should be allowed to appeal in Sikkim High Court as it takes us only four hours to reach Gangtok instead of 12 hours to reach Calcutta,” said Seshmani. The Darjeeling lawyers have decided to write to the Chief Justice of India, S.H. Kapadia, highlighting these two points. “Till 2006, all the district judges of the six north Bengal districts had special powers to try CBI cases. Instead of having one CBI court for the entire region, it would be better to reinstate the powers to the district judges as it takes almost the same time for people from Malda to come to Siliguri instead of going to Calcutta,” said executive member of the association Dinesh Chandra Rai. The association has decided to send delegations to all the north Bengal districts to build up a consensus on this issue. “We also have decided to carry on with the ceasework in the Darjeeling court till March 31. We will appeal to lawyers in Kurseong and Kalimpong to join us. We will request the court employees’ union to resort to pendown on that day,” said Gurung. The future course of action will be charted out after a meeting between the bar associations of Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Kurseong on April 2. The Darjeeling lawyers have been observing the ceasework from March 20. Court sources said the ceasework by the lawyers was inconveniencing litigants. “Those who are arrested on bailable offences are bound to get bail but those who are booked under non-bailable offences are facing problem as there are no lawyers to argue for them. As of now, dates of producing in court are getting deferred which means the legal process is getting delayed,” said a source. Even registration of marriages, deed (land), lease and other civil case were getting delayed.(The Telegraph)