LS nod to bill for High Courts in Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura

The North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) and Other Related Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2012, will pave way for creation of High Courts in the three north-eastern states by amending the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.

At present, the three states have benches under the Gauhati High Court.

Once the new High Courts are established, the number of High Courts in the country will go up from 21 to 24.

According to the Financial Memorandum of the Bill, the expenditure on establishment of the three HCs, including recurring expenditure, has been and will be borne by the respective state governments.

The Home Ministry proposal was passed in the lower house amid din over the cartoon row.

As of now, all the seven Northeastern states come under the jurisdiction of the Gauhati High Court with separate benches in Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur.

Sikkim, geographically not part of the North-East, has a separate high court.

The total approved strength of judges in the 21 High Courts is 895 with 257 posts lying vacant.