Supreme Court stays Uttarakhand High Court order asking state for its relocation out of Nainital

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, May 25

The Supreme Court on Friday stayed an Uttarakhand High Court order asking the state government to find “the best suitable land” outside Nainital for constructing a new building for the high court and creating other requisite infrastructure.

Acting on a petition filed by Uttarakhand High Court Bar Association, a Vacation Bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Sanjay Karol stayed the operation of the high court’s May 8 order; issued notice to the state government and posted the matter for further hearing after the summer vacation.

The Bench passed the stay order after hearing submissions from lawyers representing the petitioner and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. The establishment of new benches of a high court was in the domain of Parliament and the impugned direction to the Uttarakhand Government to undertake an administrative exercise to finalise land was not proper, Mehta said.

Senior advocate Siddharth Luthra opposed the stay, saying there was a pressing need to set up the high court premises outside Nainital.

The high court had asked the Uttarakhand Chief Secretary to complete the exercise of identifying the land within a month and submit a report to it by June 7.

When Uttarakhand was created the sanctioned strength of the court was only of three judges, the HC said. “Within 20 years, the strength has gone up to 11. In the next 50 years, the strength is likely to go up at least eight times. So, within the next 50 years we need land for 80 judges. So, we are giving direction to the Chief Secretary to apply her mind to the above directions,” it had said.

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