Karnataka High Court Sets Up Three-Judge Panel to Study Coastal, Malnad Bench Demand
Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court has formed a three-judge committee to examine the feasibility of a Circuit or Permanent Bench in the coastal and Malnad regions.
The Chief Justice of the High Court of Karnataka has constituted a three-member committee of judges to assess whether a Circuit Bench or a Permanent Bench of the court can be set up in the coastal or Malnad region of the State.
According to a notification issued by the High Court's Registrar General, the panel comprises Justices Anu Sivaraman, S.G. Pandit and Mohammad Nawaz.
The committee has been asked to examine the feasibility of establishing such a Bench in Mangaluru or Udupi in the coastal belt, or in Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu-Madikeri, Hassan, Davanagere or Uttara Kannada districts. It will consult all stakeholders before submitting its report.
The demand for a permanent Bench in the coastal region has been a long-running political and legal issue, with the Mangaluru Bar Association and the Coastal High Court Bench Agitation Committee at the forefront of the campaign. Advocates and political leaders from the coastal districts have argued that litigants face logistical difficulties and heavy expenses in travelling to Bengaluru for proceedings before the High Court.
In a recent development, authorities indicated that a 50,000 sq. ft. facility at the old Deputy Commissioner's office in Mangaluru could be made available to house a Circuit Bench.
The proposal has, however, drawn opposition from the Advocates' Association, Bengaluru, which formally objected to the move. The association described the demand as premature and lacking an empirical basis. It contended that adding another Bench, besides the existing permanent Benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi, would weaken the institutional unity of the High Court and warned that fragmentation could affect consistency in judicial administration.