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Supreme Court stays Uttarakhand HC’s relocation order
A bench comprising justices PS Narasimha and Sanjay Karol sought a response from the state government to a plea filed by the Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association challenging the high court’s directive.
New Delhi The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an order issued by the Uttarakhand High Court, directing the state government to find a suitable site for relocating its premises out of Nainital.
A bench comprising justices PS Narasimha and Sanjay Karol sought a response from the state government to a plea filed by the Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association challenging the high court’s directive.
At the outset of the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the state said that the High Court’s decision is a kind of referendum.
Senior advocate Sidharth Luthra, representing the Dehradun Bar Association, provided the bench with historical context linked to the matter and highlighted the resolution passed by the high court in consideration of both litigants and lawyers. Luthra also requested that the stay should not impede the ongoing administrative processes.
Senior advocate PB Suresh, appearing for the Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association, contended that the high court had overstepped its bounds by directing a vote on a presidential order that had established the principal bench of the Uttarakhand High Court in Nainital. Suresh, assisted by advocates Vinod Kanna, Vipin Nair and Karthik Jayshankar, asserted that only Parliament or the central government has the authority to decide on the location of a principal bench.
Issuing notice on the petition, the bench sought a response from the state and scheduled the next hearing on July 8.
The high court, through a full court resolution dated September 15, 2022, had resolved to relocate the high court from Nainital. In March 2023, the Central government granted in-principle consent for the move to Haldwani. Subsequently, in May 2023, the state cabinet approved the transfer of 26.08 hectares of forest land in Haldwani’s Gaulapar area for the new high court site.
However, the high court’s May 8 order rejected the proposed site in Haldwani, noting that of the 26 hectares of land allotted to it, 75% of land is full of trees. “The court does not want to uproot any of the trees to make a new high court. Keeping in view the above fact, we are not using that land,” it said.
Stressing the need for a long-term solution, the court said, “Every institution is established with a vision to remain established for a long period, therefore, we also want that high court should be established at a new location so that there will be no need to shift it again in the next 50 years. Keeping in view the larger public interest, hardships faced by litigants and young lawyers, lack of medical facilities and connectivity and the fact that in more than 75% of the cases, the state government is a party and has to spend a huge amount on their TA & DA, shifting of high court from Nainital is required.”
The state was directed to locate suitable land for the relocation within a month and submit a report by June 6. Additionally, the high court had ordered its registrar general to open a portal by May 14 for lawyers and the public across the state to provide their input on the relocation. The portal was made operational on May 14 on the high court’s official website, seeking public opinion on the issue.
