Gauhati HC Bar Association Boycotts CJI Event, Holds Hunger Strike

The Gauhati High Court Bar Association (GHCBA) on Sunday launched a four-hour protest, boycotting the foundation stone ceremony of the proposed new judicial township at Amingaon in North Guwahati.

The new High Court complex is planned as part of a judicial city at Rangmahal, where the foundation stone was laid by Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant.

Expressing strong opposition to the relocation, GHCBA vice-president Santanu Borthakur said the association was against shifting the High Court from its current site in central Guwahati. “We have begun a hunger strike from 10 am to 2 pm. None of our members will attend the ceremony. The court must remain in the heart of the city,” he said.

The Bar Association has maintained that the government decided to go ahead with the project without adequate consultation with key stakeholders. According to Borthakur, the executive committee will meet in the coming days to determine further steps, including the possibility of challenging the decision legally. “If the foundation stone is laid today, we will consider moving the court against the decision,” he added.

The protest on Sunday is part of a series of demonstrations by the GHCBA against the proposed shift of the High Court complex from its present location in Uzan Bazar to the northern bank of the Brahmaputra. Earlier in the week, advocates staged similar hunger strikes for four hours on Thursday and Friday in front of the existing High Court building.

Meanwhile, Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia has criticised the agitation, alleging that political interests were influencing the protests. He claimed there was a “nexus with political parties” behind the opposition to the project.

The state government plans to develop the judicial township at Rangmahal over 148 bighas, or nearly 49 acres, of land. In November last year, the Assam Cabinet approved an allocation of Rs 479 crore for the first phase of construction.

Currently, the Gauhati High Court operates from its historic campus at Uzan Bazar in central Guwahati on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra. The complex comprises the old heritage structure and a modern multi-storey building inaugurated in recent years. The two buildings, located on opposite sides of Mahatma Gandhi Road, are connected by an underground passage equipped with escalators.

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