Thomas, J. - (1.) The demand for establishment of High Court benches at centers different from the principal seat is a clamour without abatement. It may be an ideal proposition to have justice dispensing centers located at close proximity to all seekers of justice but as a proposition for practical implementation proliferation of High Court benches is fraught with many irredeemable infirmities. Taking cue from those few States where benches have been established away from the principal seat of the High Court, pressure is being mounted up, mostly by members of mofussil Bar Association to have branches of High Courts located at such centers also. Here is one such case of persisting clamour for a bench of Karnataka High Court at Hubli or Dharwad.
(2.) The petitioner is described as "Federation of Bar Associations in Karnataka" comprising of District Presidents of various Bar Associations in Karnataka State numbering 18. They filed this writ petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, for issuance of a writ of mandamus to the Union of India for establishing a permanent bench of the High Court "at any suitable place in northern Karnataka". The case sought to be made out by the petitioner is that such a bench is imperatively necessary for, inter alia, the following reasons: (1) The distance from Bangalore (which is the principal seat of the High Court of Karnataka) to various district centers of the State ranges between 425-613 Kms., and hence litigants from all these districts have to travel a long distance to reach the High Court. It is highly expensive besides being time consuming for such seekers of justice. (2) In six other States the High Courts have benches situated away from the principal seat. They are:Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar. (Tamil Nadu also will soon have a different bench of the High Court at Madurai). If such States can have benches outside the principal seat of the High Court why not Karnataka also get the same benefit, poses the petitioner. (3) As early as 29-10-1979, the then Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court - Justice D. M. Chandrashekar had recommended for establishment of a bench of the High Court at Dharwad-Hubli.
(3.) The other reasons projected by the petitioners in the writ petition are merely repetitions of the above three reasons by using different words. It is pertinent to point out that petitioner has admitted that a Committee of five Judges was constituted by the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court to study the proposition and to submit a report and that Committee, after hearing the respective Bar Associations, submitted a report in June, 2000 disfavouring the proposal for establishment of a separate bench away from the principal seat of the High Court.;