U’khand govt’s decision to shift HC triggers row

The Uttarakhand government’s “in-principle” nod on Wednesday to a proposal to move the high court from Nainital to Haldwani has sparked outrage among lawyers in the city as well as a section of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders

The Uttarakhand government’s “in-principle” nod on Wednesday to a proposal to move the high court from Nainital to Haldwani has sparked outrage among lawyers in the city as well as a section of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

According to news agency PTI, Arya said the decision was taken without taking the opinion of advocates and businessmen in the city. (Representational Photo)

BJP legislator from Nainital Sarita Arya called the move “impractical”.

According to news agency PTI, Arya said the decision was taken without taking the opinion of advocates and businessmen in the city.

She added that the high court provided employment to local residents and shifting it out of the city would be an attack on their livelihood. “I will oppose the decision at every level,” she said.

Former MLA and lawyer Mahendra Pal said the move would trigger migration from the hills, while advocate RS Sambal said the decision did not solve any problem.

Regional political party Uttarakhand Kranti Dal also hit out at the government led by Pushkar Singh Dhami, calling the decision a result of “pahad virodhi (anti-hill) mindset”.

The outfit’s chief, Kashi Singh Airy, posted a video message on Twitter on Thursday calling for the court to be shifted to Gairsain instead after making it the state’s permanent capital.

“We can’t understand the mindset that is working against the hills. It’s the same mindset that is creating hindrances in making Gairsain the permanent capital. They have made the capital issue complex by putting Dehradun against Gairsain,” said Airy.

While the CM’s office or the law ministry has not issued any statement about the reasons behind the move, a government official familiar with the matter said litigants and lawyers were facing issues of traffic congestion and roadblocks during the tourist season as well as during monsoon. “They hardly find rooms in Nainital during the tourist season and face a lot of problems for stay. Also, due to lack of space, they face the problem of parking,” said the official asking not to be named.

“In line with the same mindset, they are now talking about shifting the high court from Nainital to Haldwani. I don’t know what are the concerns from the high court being located in Nainital. If it is causing inconvenience to a particular class, we ask the government to make Gairsain the permanent capital and shift the high court there. It will be a good decision in favour of the hills and we will fight for it,” he said.

The high court was set up in Nainital and inaugurated on November 10, a day after Uttarakhand was carved out as a separate state. On October 27, the Central government handed over 45 acres of HMT land in Ranibag, near Haldwani, to the state government for its possible use to benefit the people of the area.

The hill town of Gairsain in the hill district of Chamoli was declared as the summer capital of Uttarakhand in June 2020. The state Congress has time and again alleged that despite announcing Gairsain as the summer capital, the government neglects the hill town in Chamoli district. This year’s budget session was earlier scheduled to be held in Gairsain but was later shifted to Dehradun.

HT had reported on November 13 that lawyers in the state are divided over the proposal to move the court. While lawyers in Nainital are largely against it, those from other parts of the state are in support.

Raman Sah, a senior advocate in Nainital, said on Thursday that the move will lead to several problems. “It will be against the concept of the hill state. Several people are getting employment due to the high court. Shifting will aggravate the migration problem. A hill state’s high court must be in the hill area,” he said.

Ratan Singh Chauhan, president of Ramnagar bar association, said, “Shifting is a must for the benefit of pleaders as well as lawyers and Ramnagar is a suitable location for this. Ramnagar will be easily approached for the Garhwal region also.”

The opposition Congress, on other hand, has welcomed the move.

Congress state unit president Karan Mahara said, “Shifting of Nainital High Court to Haldwani will... provide easy justice to litigants/complainants and solution to problems related to transport.”

State BJP chief Mahendra Bhatt backed the proposal saying it would increase accessibility. “It’s a good decision and the high court will get easily accessible to the general public. It will also reduce the traffic burden on the hilly town.