Separate state HC not in Law Ministry’s domain: Minister

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

Union Minister of Law and Justice DV Sadananda Gowda today made it clear that a separate High Court for Haryana was out of his domain. His assertion marks a clear-cut departure from the stand taken by previous Union Law Minister Dr M Veerappa Moily.

Addressing a gathering of lawyers at the HC, Gowda said the Law Ministry on its own could not initiate the process. “The Law Ministry suo motu has no such powers,” he asserted.

His assertion came in response to a query. Elaborating, Gowda said the Chief Ministers were to hold consultations with the Chief Justice before the initiation of any such process. The assertion is significant as the authorities concerned, and even the Law Ministry, has been receiving letters for a separate HC for Haryana.

Moily had claimed in May, 2011 that “the process was on” and they were “seriously considering a separate high court for the state”. The Law Minister in the previous Congress government, Moily had even claimed that he had already written to the then Chief Justice and the latter’s reply was awaited. At that time, the Law Ministry had made it clear that almost all states had their own high courts. In fact, 21 full-fledged HCs were functional for 28 states and three Union Territories at that time.

The then Chief Minister, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, too, had claimed that a separate HC was their legitimate right. Hooda had claimed he wanted the high court to be located at Chandigarh and that too in the same building, as the city was Haryana’s capital too.