a day ago
Four decades on, a renewed demand for Saurashtra bench of Gujarat HC in Rajkot gains momentum
On August 11, a group of lawyers gathered outside the new Rajkot District and Sessions Court building in Madhapar area outside the city, set up a small table with a picture of 'Mother India' and proceeded to sacrifice 111 coconuts at the main door of the building while demanding a bench of the Gujarat High Court in Rajkot for the Saurashtra-Kutch region.
This demand has gained momentum days after the Bombay High Court established a fifth bench in Kolhapur, reviving a longstanding request that previously saw major protests in 1983. Over four decades later, the Rajkot Bar Association plans to submit a detailed proposal to the Central Government demanding either a permanent or circuit bench in Rajkot that will cater to 12 of Gujarat's 33 districts.
The Gujarat High Court has only one bench, located in Ahmedabad, unlike other major state high courts. Advocates for a separate bench in the Saurashtra-Kutch region argue that the significant distance —up to 450 km from some western coastal districts— makes it costly and time-consuming for litigants and lawyers to appear in person.
A day after the symbolic protest by the group of lawyers, the Rajkot Bar Association called a meeting on August 12, to discuss the proposal.
'All citizens are entitled to timely, inexpensive and accessible justice. This is a fundamental right. Taking this into account, we are demanding a bench for Saurashtra-Kutch based in Rajkot,' said Paresh Maru, the President of the Rajkot Bar Association.
When asked if one of the requirements for the establishment of a bench in the region would require an amendment of the Bombay State Reorganisation Act (BRSA), Maru said, 'An amendment is required indeed and to that end, we have decided, that instead of giving a simple application to the government, that we will, in consultation with all other Bar Associations across Saurashtra-Kutch, form a team of 30 lawyers to draw on the foundation of the 1983 demand and draft a detailed proposal that can be submitted in the next one month.'
The Rajkot Bar Association has decided to reach out to all other Bar Associations across the 12 districts of Saurashtra-Kutch, MLAs, MPs and social sector organisations to seek opinions over the issue. There are approximately 28,000 advocates in the Saurashtra-Kutch region.
Talking about the scenario after the 1983 protest, Maru said that several Bar Association leaders and advocate groups had been making this demand over the years but to no avail because 'something that is of wide public interest cannot be obtained easily and there needs to be consistency and will to achieve these ends.'
On July 17 this year, the Gujarat Home Department said that in the past six months, 53,672 prisoners appeared before the courts via video conferencing.
The Gujarat HC installed 1,100 units of VC systems in the courts across the state. As of now, 83 such systems are operational in the state jails.
Sharing about the requirement for a separate bench despite availability of VC facility, Advocate Arjun Patel, who was part of the group of protesting lawyers, said, 'Young lawyers would benefit from in-person proceedings. Currently, the VC systems are not used up to potential because of lack of proceedings can be hindered by sound and video issues, leading to delayed responses. Face-to-face arguments in court are often more effective, and the logistics of traveling between Rajkot's district court and Ahmedabad's High Court is challenging.'
Rajkot has the precedent of hosting the higher judiciary on behalf of the entire region, since the time of the British Raj.
According to the Rajkot District Court website, 'In the time of the British Government there was one Rajashthanik Court sitting in the premises, now known as Kothi Compound at Rajkot, having two British Judges and one Indian Judge… there was a court of the Judicial Commissioner whose jurisdiction was that of the present High Court.'
After Independence, subsequently, Saurashtra High Court was established in Rajkot with Justice Mr MC Shah of the Bombay HC as first Chief Justice.
In 1956, the Central Government enacted the States Reorganisation Act, merging Saurashtra and Kutch into Bombay State. Consequently, the Saurashtra High Court was dissolved, and its jurisdiction was transferred to the Bombay High Court, with a bench established in Rajkot to handle Saurashtra district matters.
According to the Rajkot District Court website, 'Thereafter, the Bombay High Court used to come to Rajkot for 15 days in a month.'
Later, the enactment of the Bombay State Reorganisation Act (BSRA) on May 1, 1960, led to the bifurcation of Bombay into the two states of Gujarat and Maharashtra, removing the Bombay HC's jurisdiction on Rajkot. It was then that the Gujarat HC was established.
In 1983, the Gujarat government, led by then Chief Minister Madhavsinh Solanki, established a single-member commission headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice DG Palekar.
Notably, the then MPs Chandresh Patel from Jamnagar and Ratilal Kalidas Varma from Dhandhuka had raised questions about establishing a HC bench in Saurashtra during the 14th Lok Sabha session.
Ramakant D Khalap, the then MoS Law and Justice, GoI, had replied, 'Representations have been received from Bar Associations from time to time for establishment of benches of Gujarat High Court at Rajkot, Surat, Baroda, Kutch and Bhavnagar'.
'In its report dated August 23, 1985, the one-man Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Justice DG Palekar, recommended that a circuit bench of the Gujarat High Court could be established on the initiative of the Chief Justice subject to Governor's approval under Section 28(3) of the Bombay Reorganisation Act, 1960. The Commission also recommended that there were no historical, geographical or even sentimental reasons for establishing permanent benches anywhere in the State. The government accepted the recommendations and sent a copy of the report to the High Court. As such, there is no proposal to constitute any Committee or Commission to consider the demand afresh.'
Septuagenarian Advocate Jaydev Shukla, a veteran of the 1983 protests, said another attempt at representation had been made in 1996-97 as well. 'Three bus loads of advocates had gone to Gandhinagar and made a representation to the then CM Shankarsinh Vaghela, following which he wrote to then Chief Justice of India Aziz Mushabber Ahmadi to consider this request.'
When asked what had changed between 1983 and 2025, Advocate Maru told the Indian Express, 'There is a vast difference. Currently, the population of Saurashtra-Kutch accounts for 3.3 crore out of 7.4 crore across the entire state. Further, about 35-40% of the total 18.5 lakh cases pending in the Gujarat HC are from Saurashtra and Kutch. This is the second highest case pendency in India after Maharashtra.'
