Dharwad HC circuit bench to get permanent tag today

The number of cases from Dharwad circuit bench rose from 21,000 to 70,000 in 5 yrs

August 24 will be a red letter day in the history of Dharwad as it will get a permanent bench of the High Court that day.

Gulbarga will get its own bench on August 31. The actual functioning of the permanent benches will take another 4-5 months as the rules need to be framed.

The people of north Karnataka had been demanding the establishment of a high court bench in Dharwad and had had a prolonged agitation which at times turned violent. The Central and state governments, judges of high court and Supreme Court after much deliberation finally consented to establish the circuit benches in Dharwad and Gulbarga.

The people had sustained the pressure to convert these benches into permanent benches and the struggle has been fruitful now.

The move for the common man means a speedy disposal of cases, and not having to go to Bangalore to file a Public Interest Litigation or to go in for higher appeal and cutting down on expenses.

The demand for a permanent bench was just because the number of cases from the jurisdiction of Dharwad circuit bench which stood at 21,000 when the circuit house started functioning, has tripled to nearly 70,000 in the past five years.

However, the courts hearing public interest litigations, appellate tribunals and green benches continued to function in Bangalore.

Now, with the circuit benches becoming permanent benches, these cases can also be heard at Dharwad and Gulbarga.

The Dharwad high court bench will have six judges while Gulbarga will have three. The chief justice will visit the benches. There will be opportunity for eminent lawyers from the bar to be elevated as judges of high court.

Fight for the bench

* October 28, 1954: A six-member fact finding committee headed by Sheshadri appointed by Mysore State government to study the demand for establishment of a high court in North Karnataka submits its report recommending establishment of bench at a central place.

* November 5, 1975: Karnataka Law minister D K Naiker writes to Union Law minister demanding the establishment of the high court bench in Dharwad.

* October 27,1979: Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court D M Chandrashekhar accords his consent for establishment of HC bench in Dharwad.

* 1981: The Union government appoints Justice Jaswant Singh Commission to look into the feasibility of the demand for establishment of high court bench outside the principal seat in the wake of demand from other states for the setting up of HC benches.

* 1981: The Jaswant Singh committee visits Dharwad and other places and collects opinions.

* 1983: Jaswant Singh Committees submits its report recommending establishment of HC bench in Dharwad.

* March 30, 1992: Karnataka Assembly passes a resolution regarding establishment of HC bench in North Karnataka.