Mangaluru: The demand for a separate Karnataka High Court bench in coastal Karnataka gained momentum on Friday, with a delegation of Mangaluru lawyers submitting memoranda to Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Home Minister Priyank Kharge seeking a circuit or permanent bench in the city.
The delegation met the two ministers separately during the special state Cabinet meeting held in Mangaluru. The lawyers said a High Court bench, on the lines of those in Dharwad and Kalaburagi, would improve access to justice for people in the coastal region.
The delegation, led by former Mangaluru Bar Association vice-president and Dakshina Kannada District Congress Legal Cell president Manoraj Rajeev, urged the government to take a decision on the long-pending demand.
The lawyers sought Cabinet approval for establishing either a circuit or permanent bench and requested allocation of funds for the required judicial infrastructure. They also sought timely release of funds for pending judicial infrastructure works at Mangaluru, Bantwal and Belthangady.
Another memorandum sought suitable government land in each taluk of Dakshina Kannada for a lawyers’ housing colony. The delegation requested that plots be made available at affordable rates to address the long-standing housing demand among members of the legal fraternity.
Prison jammer issue raised
The delegation also raised mobile network disruptions reportedly linked to the signal jammer installed at Mangaluru Central Prison.
Speaking to reporters, Manoraj Rajeev said the memoranda focused on strengthening judicial infrastructure, improving access to justice and addressing housing and other infrastructure requirements of lawyers.
He said both ministers had assured the delegation that appropriate action would be taken. According to Rajeev, the chief minister also assured them that the demands of lawyers from the coastal region would be addressed in the near future.
Senior advocates Ashwini Kumar Rai, Suresh Navoor, Arun B.P., Vinodar Poojari and Praveen Kumar Adyar were among those who met the ministers.
