IMPHAL, April 7: Justice Altamas Kabir of the Supreme Court of India on Saturday inaugurated the functioning of Imphal Bench of Gauhati High Court of the newly constructed High Court Complex at Chingmeirong.
Manipur Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh and other judges of the Supreme Court of India including Justice AK Patnaik, Justice Gyan Sudha Misra and Justice Jasti Chelameswar were present at the inauguration.
In an unfortunate turn of events, the pandal erected for the inaugural ceremony inside the new Gauhati High Court complex was blown off by a strong wind just as Justice Altamas was about to address the gathering.
The wind blew off the entire roof of the pandal around at 2:30 pm following which the function ended early.
Earlier speaking at the occasion Chief Minister O Ibobi Singh said, ‘Manipur has been deprived of its separate High Court and the demand for its establishment at the earliest is justified and deserves the attention of Union government.’
The Chief Minister also sought the support of the judges present towards the cause of setting up of a separate High Court in Manipur.
The construction of the new High Court Complex would pave the way for a separate High Court in Manipur which would enable the people of the state to have easy access to justice, while adding that the huge number of pending cases and non-availability of adequate number of judges has caused untold suffering to the public.
He also said the impressive new High Court building is one of the major achievements since statehood and described the day as a ‘landmark’ in the institutional history of “Justice Delivery” in the state.
The Chief Minister also assured that he would look into the proposal for creation of 132 additional posts for the Imphal Bench of Gauhati High Court and grant necessary concurrence at the earliest.
Speaker of Manipur Legislative Assembly Th Lokeshore, MLAs, Chief Justices of Gauhati High Court, Andhra High Court and Kerala High Court, Judges of Gauhati High court and members of bar fraternity were also present at the event.
The new high Court complex was inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohon Singh on December 30, 2011. Construction work of the complex started in 2007 and its project cost was about Rs 130 crore. The state government provided the land and also contributed 10 per cent of the project cost.