Jammu lawyers recently threatened to take their protest to Delhi if the government goes ahead with its proposal to shift the Jammu bench of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court from its current location at Janipur to Raika – a forest area.
The lawyers said that they have come to know that Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud is expected to visit Jammu by the end of this month to lay the foundation stone of the new high court complex in Raika.
What are the Lawyers Saying?
In a press statement released recently, the Young Lawyers Association (YLA) Jammu has called the proposed shift a “gross misuse of the government exchequer,” adding that the proposed shift would cause “serious hardships to thousands of lawyers, as majority of the members of Bar Association Jammu are working both in the High Court and in the District/subordinate courts as well.”
“Shifting of the High Court alone and not shifting other courts would cause serious hardships not only to the Advocates but to the general public and litigants as well, especially the old age and female litigants,” the press release noted.
Senior lawyer and member of the Bar Association Jammu, Hari Chand Jalmeria told The Quint that the present High Court complex in Janipur has the district court adjacent to it, which is easier for litigants and general public to reach.
The senior lawyer said the proposed shift is a unilateral decision taken by the administration without taking them into confidence. He said that the lawyers in Jammu have been opposing this move for a long time now.
Jalmeria added that there’s enough land – more than 600 kanals – in the present location of the High Court where either a new high court complex can be constructed or present structure renovated and expanded instead of shifting the entire High Court to a forest area that also threatens the environment of Jammu.
"All the district and high court advocates are found at one place here and it is also convenient for litigants and people to reach here quickly and easily for different court related work,” said Jalmeria.
Advocate Gagandeep Singh Lucky, Vice President of Young Lawyers' Association, J&K High Court, Jammu, noted that the High Court complex in Jammu has been at the same place for the past 70 years.
'My Clients Will Also Suffer'
“Our demand is that there is already enough space to make a new High Court complex in its original place and it will be better to make the new court at the same place as it will be convenient for everyone to access it in the city,” Advocate Lucky told The Quint.
“And if despite, this the administration still wants to shift the High Court to Raika, then the District Court should also be shifted there,” the lawyer said.
Speaking to The Quint, Rozina Afzal, a lawyer who practices before the Jammu bench of the High Court said:
"Since I have cases in all courts including High Court, district and session court and various tribunals like Armed Forces Tribunals (AFT), Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) and Labour Courts and J&K Tribunal, it’s difficult to manage appearing in all cases on a single day if only the High Court is shifted.”
Thus, she too added that if the authorities are shifting the high court, they should also shift the district court, tribunals etc.
“It will not be possible (otherwise) for me to attend my urgent cases at the High Court, when I will also have urgent cases listed in trial courts.”
“Due to this my clients will also suffer,” Afzal lamented.
"The poor litigants will be relieved somewhat only if all trial courts and district and session courts along with all tribunals are shifted together to the new location along with the High Court. Otherwise they will be running from one court to the other looking for lawyers," she added.
And What About the 'Lungs of Jammu'? Environmentalists Concerned Too
Noting that the proposed site for the new High Court in Raika is a forest area "where hundreds of trees will have to be cut to construct the new court complex,” Jalmeria added that it will have a negative impact on the fragile environment of Jammu.
“What is the need to cut and damage a forest area when we already have enough space in its present location to house the new complex,” he asked.
The administration has reportedly directed the concerned authorities to clear the 813 canals of Raika forest land for the proposed new court complex in Jammu.
“When we already have 600 kanals of land where a big court complex can be constructed and expanded, why should the authorities establish the high court in Raika, which is considered to be the last remaining urban forest in Jammu, functioning as lungs of Jammu given its dense cover?” asked Advocate Yasser Farooq Khan, the general secretary of Young Lawyers' Association, Jammu.
Experts and environmental activists say that the proposed move can lead to environmental disasters, threaten existing wildlife, cause soil erosion, loss of terrestrial ecosystem, rising temperatures and increased threat of floods
As per a change.org petition, which already has over 7000 signatures, some 38,006 trees will be chopped in order to facilitate shifting the High Court to Jammu’s Raika forest.
The founding member of Climate Front Jammu, an environmental advocacy group, Anmol Ohri told The Quint that the project is unsustainable in the long run and threatens Jammu’s environment. Their group has been protesting against the move since 2021 and has held several protests on the proposed site.
“When you establish the High Court in the Raika forest area, it will lead to more urbanisation and rapid development which can’t be controlled once it’s established,” Ohri said.
“Last, there have been some man animal-conflict incidents involving leopard attacks, as well. Man animal conflict will also increase as the forest wildlife will be disturbed and threatened by this project,” he added.
The Quint tried reaching out to Jammu Deputy Commissioner Avny Lavasa via phone and WhatsApp messages for a response on this but is yet to hear back from the official. This story will be updated when the response comes in.
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