IMPHAL, December 17: The cease work strike of the High Court Bar Association, Manipur (HCBAM) will be intensified with all the lawyers in the state joining in.
Senior Advocate Khaidem Mani, who is an executive member of HCBAM told IFP today.
He had also informed that the Association had also convened a press meet at its office this evening on the same issue.
The HCBAM has been demanding installation of a separate High Court of Manipur consisting of seven judges and non absorption of any Judges sitting in the present Guahati High Court except for the two Judges elevated from Manipur in the Manipur High Court.
Khaidem Mani declaring the HCBAM’s demand as genuine said that their demands are for all the lawyers of the state.
“Article No 14 of the Indian Constitution ‘Right to Equality’ gives us the right to our demands. It would be an act of discrimination, if our demands are not met with and it would be considered as a step motherly treatment to the people of Manipur specially the lawyers of the state,” he said.
The president of All Manipur Bar Association (AMBA) while supporting the HCBAM’s demands had also submitted a memorandum to the Prime Minister of India.
The memorandum was submitted to the Prime Minister through the PMO, he said.
The reply of the memorandum has already reached the state government along with the instruction to turn it into action within 30 days time, he said.
He further continued that the present Gauhati High Court is for all the seven north-eastern states and so it can be also called as High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
However, there is judgeship quota for each seven states; for Assam it is eleven, for Nagaland and Meghalaya it is two each, for Manipur it is four, for Tripura it is three and for Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh it is only one each.
Since 1976 till 2011 only 10 Judges were appointed from Manipur, out of which two pass away, six got retirement and only two are currently at service, he said.
So, the actual Manipur’s quota for four is not fulfilled, but in the meantime we have received information that three Judges will be appointed to the Gauhati High Court and in that there is no sign of appointing any Judges from Manipur, he continued.
“To intensify the agitating of HOBAM, all the lawyers in the state under the aegis of All Manipur Bar Association will join the cease work strike”, the senior advocate informed IFP.
Meanwhile, according to a reliable source, due to the agitation of the HCBAM, invitation cards for the inaugural function of the Court buildings of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) for Chandel and Senapati districts, which will be attended by Supreme Court Justice, RM Lodha and Gauhati High Court Justice, Ak Goel and supposed to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday are yet to be dispatched.