'Minister has promised on discussion of HC bench issue'

Union Minister Sanjeev Kumar Balyan has assured agitating lawyers of western Uttar Pradesh that their demand for separate bench of High Court would be discussed at a Cabinet meeting later this month.
Addressing a press conference here, former president of district bar association Surendra Singh Rathi said the Agriculture Minister had assured that a meeting of the Cabinet was going to be convened between December 23 and 28, when their issue would be discussed at length.
He further said that Balyan had promised that "we the ministers and MPs from western UP are the advocates of lawyers, and will plead for establishment the HC bench in the cabinet meeting".

Hence the 'Sangharsh Samiti' has decided to postpone their 'sit-on-protest until death' opposite BJP headquarters Ashoka Raod slated from December 15.
However, the president of Bar Association, Anil Pandit said that despite assurance of ministers and MPs, the advocates will continue their relay strike till their demand for establishment of separate HC bench in western UP was finally accomplished.
A meeting of 'Kendriya Sangharsh Samiti' will be held at Muzaffarnagar on December 22 to chalk out future strategy of the agitation.

Pandit said that representatives of the bar associations of 22 western UP districts along with Balyan and BJP MP Rajendra Aggarwal had met Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda on December 1 and had handed over a charter of their demands.

Gowda had shown his consonance to the charter, he said.
In their charter, the advocates had given a comparative study of various states depicting the ratio of population and the availability of justice to them through access to nearest benches of High Court.
The Prime Minister's office (PMO) has also called for a detailed report about the lawyers' agitation and feasibility of establishing of HC bench in western UP, he said.