High Court bench in west UP soon: law minister Brijesh Pathak

MEERUT: “Western Uttar Pradesh will soon have a high court bench. We will discuss the details soon and inform you,” said Brijesh Pathak, law minister of UP, here on Thursday.
On a visit to the city, Pathak made this remark while discussing problems faced by lawyers at the Circuit House. In the past too, various governments have made such promises but none has fulfilled it.People still have to travel hundreds of kilometres from various parts of western UP to Allahabad for hearing of their cases.
“We know that lawyers from western UP have been suffering for many years and have been agitating for long. We are considering all options that are available. We assure you that we will resolve this issue very soon. The lawyers of western UP will not have to suffer much longer. We will soon discuss the matter and I assure you that we will set up the high court bench soon,” said Pathak.
The demand for a high court bench in western UP dates back to 1955, when then chief minister Babu Sampurnanand had recommended a bench be set up in the region, preferably in Meerut. In 1985, the Jaswant Singh Commission had recommended setting up of a high court bench in western UP but the central government failed to act upon it.
“This assurance has been given many times. Even BJP president Amit Shah had voiced the same view but nothing happened. We will continue agitating,” said a lawyer.
Misbauddin Siddiqui, president of the Meerut District Bar Association, said, “The problem is that the Allahabad High Court has the highest number of pending cases. The pressure is huge. Allahabad is very far from western UP. It is around 800 km from Saharanpur. Eight other high courts are closer to western UP, and interestingly Lahore high court is closer than Allahabad HC. The cost of travelling to Allahabad, and then staying there is huge for poor people. That is why we have been demanding a high court bench. Successive governments have denied us this. Now, we are hopeful as there is the same party in both the Centre and state and the law minister has given us an assurance.”