HC dissolves committee set up to look into feasibility of separate bench for western UP

ALLAHABAD: In a relief to lawyers who have been on strike for nearly a month opposing any move for creation of a separate high court bench for western Uttar Pradesh, the Allahabad High Court today announced dissolution of a committee of judges that had been set up to look into a query from the Centre regarding feasibility of the same.

An "urgent" press release issued late tonight quoted Registrar (Protocol) Ashish Kumar Srivastava as saying that a resolution to this effect was passed at a meeting of the High Court's Administrative Committee. The Administrative Committee, while recording that no proposal has been received from Uttar Pradesh government for constitution of a separate bench, "resolved that the Committee which was constituted on September 06, 2014 stands dissolved", the release said.

The dissolved committee, comprising several judges, was set up by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud upon receipt of a letter from the then Union Law Minister Ravishankar Prasad who had referred to a communication sent by his predecessor Kapil Sibal to the then Chief Justice in 2013 and asked for comments on the same.

Prasad's letter came to light following a report in an English daily earlier this week and when a delegation of lawyers, who have been on strike since December 12, met the Chief Justice and other judges who were part of the committee, they were assured that no decision in the matter will be taken without taking advocates of the High Court into confidence.

Today's development comes shortly after the lawyers' decision to ask the Chief Justice to disapprove of the proposed new bench in writing.

The High Court Bar Association decided to set up a committee of senior advocates tomorrow for meeting the Chief Justice with the request.