Haryana CM demanded a separate High Court for Haryana

Chandigarh, May 23, 2015: Haryana Chief Minister, Mr Manohar Lal has demanded a separate High Court for Haryana, an equal but not existing 40 per cent representation on the bench of the Punjab and Haryana  High Court and an additional bench for the south-western districts in the State.

The Chief Minister was speaking at a Students Legal Literacy Mission organised by Haryana State Legal Services Authority at Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak today.

Mr Manohar Lal said that a separate High Court would be of great help to the people of Haryana. He  also suggested to setup a bench of High Court for south-western region of the state. He said that in Haryana about 1.40 lakh cases and in Punjab 1.25 lakh cases are pending in various Courts. He said that Haryana is ahead of Punjab in many aspects but in terms of recruitment of judges the ratio of Haryana and Punjab is 40:60 whereas this should be 50:50.

The Chief Minister said that as the proceedings of Vidhan Sabha  are telecast live  by Doordarshan, similarly if the proceedings of various cases of Supreme  Court and High Court are telecast live, it would be beneficial for the public to hear the proceedings. Mr Manohar Lal suggested that judicial proceedings of high  courts should be telecast live. Efforts should also be made to facilitate proceedings of high courts in Hindi in Hindi-speaking states and in regional languages in non-Hindi speaking states.

Mr. Manohar Lal expressed his pleasure over the fact that in recent joint conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices of high courts which was held in New Delhi, Haryana was appreciated for its infrastructural facilities in courts.  He said that the state government has made a provision of Rs. 80 crore for the expansion of infrastructural facilities. He said that in all 21 districts and 14 Sub Divisions of Haryana, mediation centres have been setup where disputes are settled on mutual understanding without going to court. He said that 21 fast tract courts are functioning in  Haryana where cases related to senior citizens, children and women are quickly disposed off.

While appreciating the Students Legal Literacy Mission, Chief Minister said that Haryana State Legal Services Authority is  guiding the society. He said that culture, discipline and rules have an important place in life and without which a happy and disciplined society cannot be imagined. He said that legal awareness programme should not be limited only to the students but all citizens should be linked to this programme. He said that it is our moral duty to adhere to laws.

The Chief Minister said that in the Constitution everybody has been given the right of equality but weaker sections of the society face difficulties to gain from their rights. For this, different institutions should come forward to give legal help. He said that those families whose annual income is below Rs. 1.50 lakh, are being provided free legal aid by the Authorities.

In the programme, Punjab and Haryana High Court Acting Chief Justice, Mr Justice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar said that people who have legal knowledge of matters should help the weaker sections of the society, especially the farmers and labourers. He said that this section of the society could be informed about circulars and rules issued by the government from time to time so that they could take the benefit of various government schemes. He appealed to the students to join legal literacy club and play an important role in spreading legal awareness.

Haryana Education Minister, Mr. Ram Bilas Sharma said that Haryana State Legal Services Authority has worked to strengthen the weaker sections of the society by providing them with legal aid. He said that through Lok Adalats help in settling important cases with difficulty yet this system has encouraged people to avail their benefit. He said that as many as 3645 Legal Literacy Clubs have been opened in schools and colleges of the State, under which this year 28 lakh students have participated in legal literacy competitions.  

The Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge and Haryana State Legal Service Authority (HALSA), Chairman, Mr Justice Satish Kumar Mittal said that HALSA has a target to spread legal awareness among  10 lakh children. He said that the Authority through the medium of children wanted to educate the people about their rights and responsibilities.

On the occasion, Haryana Chief Minister Mr Manohar Lal also awarded students for their outstanding performance in Students Legal Literacy Mission. / (SK Vyas, Jalandhar)