Search in Siliguri to house 2 new courts

TT; Siliguri, Aug. 31: The chief justice of Calcutta High Court today inspected a market complex at Himanchal Vihar in Matigara to see if the building could house two new courts which are to be set up with the establishment of the Siliguri police commissionerate.

 Chief Justice J.N. Patel was accompanied by three high court judges, law minister Malay Ghatak and north Bengal development minister Gautam Deb. Malay said a chief judicial magistrate (CJM) court and a city session court would be established in Siliguri and the high court had to take a final call on their location. 

 “Now that the police commissionerate has been formed, at least these two courts will have to be set up in Siliguri. The chief justice visited an unused market complex at Himanchal Vihar in Matigara. We need to develop lock-ups, courtrooms, chambers of judicial officers and parking space to make the courts functional.

 We will wait for instructions from the high court regarding infrastructure and accordingly, we will do the necessary work and ready the courts in 45 days,” said Malay. The law minister also said there had been a proposal that three police stations in the Siliguri subdivision, which were outside the purview of the commissionerate, should be brought under the city session’s court. 

Although the government plans to open the two new courts at the Matigara building owned by the Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority, the Siliguri Bar Association said the CJM court could function from the existing court complex.

 “We have requested the authorities to set up the city session’s court at Himanchal Vihar and the CJM court at the court complex (where the additional chief judicial magistrate’s court, three fast track courts and seven other courts are located). If three fast tracks can be shifted to Himanchal Vihar, the CJM court can come up at the court complex,” said Suresh Mitruka, the president of the bar association.