CM Devendra Fadnavis said his government is “positive about bringing in a law to ensure safety of advocates” while attending the inauguration of Bombay HC’s new circuit bench in Kolhapur. He called the move a historic victory after a 50-year struggle.
Kolhapur: On August 17, a historic moment was celebrated in Kolhapur on Sunday as Chief Justice of India B R Gavai inaugurated the new circuit bench of the Bombay High Court in the district.
On this occasion, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured the legal community that his government was serious about introducing a law to protect advocates and would soon take a decision in this regard.
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The Chief Minister said that lawyers across the state had been asking for strong legal protection to ensure their safety, and the government was looking at the demand positively.
He further added that the state was committed to improving the court system by modernising and upgrading infrastructure so that justice could reach the common man without unnecessary delays.
Calling the inauguration of the circuit bench in Kolhapur a historic development, Fadnavis said that this was the result of a long struggle lasting almost 50 years. He recalled that on May 12, 2015, the state cabinet had passed a resolution to set up a circuit bench in Kolhapur.
He pointed out that the demand had also been placed before Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his earlier visit to Kolhapur.
The Chief Minister said,
“When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Kolhapur (then) for a programme organised by Pudhari newspaper, a request for the circuit bench was placed before him,”
Fadnavis further recalled how the demand was strongly supported in 2018.
He explained,
“In 2018, minister Chandrakant Patil had led an all-party delegation to me for the Kolhapur circuit bench. We pursued the matter and even told the Bombay High Court that we were ready to set up judicial infrastructure for the same,”
The Chief Minister gave credit to Chief Justice B R Gavai for personally ensuring the progress of this important project.
He said,
“But the momentum for the circuit bench picked up under CJI Bhushan Gavai. He has personally monitored the progress of the circuit bench project. Now, the land has also been transferred for the construction of the new circuit bench building,”
Fadnavis also expressed hope that the new bench would transform the region. According to him, Kolhapur has now moved into the spotlight along with other important districts.
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He said,
“The circuit bench has opened doors for an all-round development of Kolhapur, which has now taken the ‘centre stage’ along with Solapur, Satara, Sangli in the Pune region and Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg in the coastal Konkan belt.”
With the establishment of the Bombay High Court’s circuit bench, people from Kolhapur and nearby districts will no longer need to travel long distances to Mumbai or other cities for their cases.
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