Disunity among lawyers hit HC Bench stir

By M.Madan Mohan

HUBLI, JULY 25. The Supreme Court ruling against the establishment of a High Court Bench in North Karnataka has given a jolt to the agitation demanding the same.

If earlier the Union and State governments were not willing to concede the demand, this time the ruling has come as a blow to the agitation. Notwithstanding their political differences, both the governments appeared to be united in meeting the demand. Expectations of the people had risen based on the reports from Delhi in this regard.

The Supreme Court ruling has vindicated the stand of the High Court in rejecting the demand on the basis of the report of the five-judge committee. It is unlikely that the Centre will pursue the matter again.

The agitation for the three-decade-old demand has been affected by the lack of unity among those in the districts in the region. Instead of making the demand for North Karnataka, demands for setting up the Bench were made for all the districts. Apart from the agitation in Hubli-Dharwad, which has been going on for long, protests were being staged in Belgaum, Gulbarga, Bellary and Bijapur. The Bar associations of the region did not consider the issue as a regional one. Even those in Hubli and Dharwad was not united in making the demand. The move to form a joint front of all the Bar associations failed as the Gulbarga Bar Association refused to join it. The front formed for Bombay-Karnataka on July 1 did not succeed.

The prolonged agitation by the lawyers was a reason for the failure in getting the demand conceded by the authorities concerned. The Supreme Court was annoyed over the manner in which the work in the courts had been disrupted by them. The lawyers of Hubli-Dharwad did not respond to the measures taken by the Krishna Government in meeting their demand. No previous government had taken such initiatives or promised the setting up of a circuit Bench. The Government took up the matter with the Prime Minister and the former Union Law Minister, Mr. Ram Jethmalani, and reminded them of the recommendations of the then Chief Justice of the High Court in 1979 on the demand for the Bench.

The lawyers also did not respond to the suggestion made by Mr. Jethmalani in Bangalore, where he had come to hold discussions with the judges of the High Court on the matter, to call off the agitation. They did not change their mind even when Mr. Jagadish Shettar, Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, and Mr. Vijay Sankeshwar sought their cooperation in the wake of the assurances given by Mr. Jethmalani.

The continuance of the agitation in Hubli-Dharwad prompted those in other districts to make individual claims. This sent confusing signals to the Government. The burning of the effigy of the former Chief Justice of the High Court, Mr. Justice Y.Bhaskar Rao, and Mr. Justice Ashok Bhan, the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court, did not help matters.

Top Government sources said that unconditional withdrawal of the agitation and allowing the courts to work were necessary to revive the demand in the future. The future course of action may be decided after the return of the President of the Hubli Bar Association from Delhi.

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