VISAKHAPATNAM: The demand for High Court bench in Visakhapatnam has gathered momentum with Uttarandhra Charcha Vedika writing a letter to Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad seeking location of two benches in North Andhra and Rayalaseema. Advocates, led by Visakhapatnam Bar Association, have also stepped up their campaign for the bench in Visakhapatnam.

Uttarandhra Charcha Vedika convener and former minister Konathala Ramakrishna, in the letter, urged the minister to set up two HC benches in the backward regions of the State. Ramakrishna said that there were several agitations by the people for a HC bench. Right now, lawyers are agitating for separate benches. The Sivaramakrishnan  Committee, constituted by the Centre, also recommended that two HC benches be set up at Visakhapatnam and Kurnool, he said.

Ramakrsihna said that Visakhapatnam is a fit case for a HC bench as it houses six law colleges, including Damodaram Sanjeevaiah National Law University, excellent infrastructure and rich legal talent. Keeping in view, the backwardness and sentiment of the people it was high time that the Central government set up the HC benches in the two backward regions of the State, he said. He said any delay in establishing the benches would further fuel the agitations and widen regional imbalances.

Meanwhile, the advocates, who have been agitating for the bench, said the demand for setting up the HC bench in the city was more than 25 years old. In 1993, the advocates of the city, led by the then president of the association Uma Bala, boycotted courts for nine months in support of their demand for the bench.

Senior advocate and Forum of Legal Professionals president Kuppili Muralidhar said that Vizag is an ideal place for establishment of a HC  bench. There are more than 6,000 advocates on rolls, including 1,000 woman advocates, in the city. The city also has a large number of industries and companies, requiring an HC bench for quick redressal of their grievances, he said. The promise of justice at the doorstep would be fulfilled when justice in the form of a bench is set up here, he said.

The advocates are also contemplating to take up the issue with Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu. The Bar Association is planning to invite the Chief Justice of India for its 125th anniversary celebrations in March. The advocates are planning to take up the HC bench issue with the CJI during his visit to the city.