Advocate General Devajit Saikia Clarifies Gauhati High Court Relocation Decision

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: At a time when the Gauhati High Court Bar Association is sitting on a hunger strike against the move to shift the Gauhati High Court from the present premises, Advocate General of Assam, Devajit Saikia, stated that the entire narrative is wrong. He stated that the High Court and not the state government had taken the decision to shift the court way back in 2023. He asserted that taking the matter to court would reveal all the facts.

Addressing the media on the subject, Advocate General of Assam, Devajit Saikia, said, “In 2023, a proposal was started under the then Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta that it was not feasible to carry out the business of the court in an efficient manner in the existing campus. The full court unanimously decided to request the Assam government to construct a judicial township or an integrated judicial complex. The state government’s cooperation was sought in that regard. At that time, I was also a member of the Bar Association. The Gauhati High Court Bar Association had taken a resolution on November 25, 2022, saying that they would not agree if only the CJM court was shifted. But if all the courts were shifted together, they would not oppose the shifting. Following this, a full court under the then Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta, in 2023, observed that there were problems in conducting the business of the HC in the present premises and sought the help of the state government to shift the HC complex.”

Speaking about the difficulties faced by the advocates at that time, he said, “There is a background to the decision. Previously, the HC had 19 judges, but that number grew to 24, and now it stands at 30. There are 23 courts and 7 to 8 judges’ quarters. Many of those promoted to judges stayed in flats and are still living there. There is no objection to staying in flats, but a matter of security is there. The advocates who joined in 2021 didn’t have seats. The lady advocates didn’t have a place to keep their bags, no place to keep tiffins. The hon’ble CM, who practised in the HC until 2001, wrote in his resignation letter to GHCBA that he faced the same problems at that time. He mentioned that he owned a Zen car, which served as his chamber because there was no place to store files. At that time, there were around 700 to 800 advocates; now there are more than 5,000. In 2023, when the full court under then Chief Justice Sandeep Mehta observed that shifting is required if the business of the Gauhati High Court is to be carried on, they requested the state government to help.”

Regarding the protest by the Gauhati High Court Bar Association, Saikia said, “Yesterday and today, senior advocates told the media that the state government decided to shift the HC. This statement is both negative and unrealistic. I don’t want to use the word ‘false’, but an incorrect narrative is being created by them. It is not the Assam government’s decision to shift the HC from Guwahati to Rangmahal. A decision has been taken by the GHC under the leadership of the Chief Justice in 2023 in a full court.  Under the provisions of the law, the governor, CM, cabinet or GoM do not have the power to decide where the HC will be located. They do not have the power. That is why I welcome the protesters to come to the court; we’ll see which law will prevail.  The Assam government is ready to fight any case against them.”

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