The demand for a permanent Bench of the Gauhati High Court in Barak Valley has gained fresh momentum after the High Court Bench Demand Implementation Committee, Cachar district unit, submitted a 112-page memorandum to the Chief Justice seeking urgent reconsideration of the issue. The memorandum, submitted as a continuation of an earlier representation dated January 12, 2026, was signed by senior advocate Dharmananda Deb on behalf of the committee. The document details the geographical, infrastructural and financial hardships faced by litigants from Barak Valley and Dima Hasao in accessing judicial services in Guwahati. Speaking to reporters, advocate Deb said litigants from southern Assam often have to travel nearly 350 to 400 kilometers to attend proceedings at the Gauhati High Court and coordinate with lawyers handling their cases. He said this creates severe financial pressure, particularly for economically weaker sections and rural residents.
The memorandum also highlighted recurring floods, landslides and fragile transport and communication networks in the region, which frequently disrupt travel and delay court proceedings. Invoking Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution, the representation argued that accessible and effective justice forms an essential part of the fundamental rights to equality and personal liberty. The committee further cited several Supreme Court judgments to argue that decentralization of judicial infrastructure is necessary to ensure substantive constitutional justice.
According to the memorandum, the Assam government has already sought the opinion of the Gauhati High Court on the matter, indicating that the issue remains under active administrative and judicial consideration. The representation also referred to earlier parliamentary discussions supporting the demand, including debates in the Lok Sabha in 2012 and an intervention in the Rajya Sabha in 1991 by former Union Law Minister Subramanian Swamy. The memorandum stated that the combined population of Cachar, Sribhumi, Hailakandi and Dima Hasao exceeds 4.7 million.
It further noted that more than 600 pending cases, along with over 4,000 cases originating from Barak Valley, remained pending between January and March this year, strengthening the argument for decentralized judicial access in southern Assam. Through the memorandum, the committee appealed to the Chief Justice to reconsider previous views on the issue and facilitate the establishment of a permanent Bench in Silchar. Drawing comparisons with the establishment of a permanent Bench of the Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri, the memorandum argued that Barak Valley has equally strong, if not stronger, demographic, administrative and logistical grounds for setting up a permanent Bench of the Gauhati High Court in Silchar.
