The Union Cabinet on February 6, 2019, approved the setting up of a Circuit Bench of the Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri.
As per a Press Information Bureau (PIB) release The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the establishment of Circuit Bench of Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri. It will have jurisdiction over four districts namely Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar.
The Calcutta High Court was established on July 1, 1862. It is the oldest High Court in India with jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri will be the third Bench of the Calcutta High Court.
As per the PIB release, the decision was taken at a Full Court Meeting in 1988, following which a cabinet decision approving the proposal was also made in 2006. In August last year, a team of judges led by Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court also visited the proposed site where the new Bench would be set up to assess the progress regarding the infrastructure facilities there.
The decision comes in the backdrop of the decision of the Calcutta High Court Full Court Meeting in 1988, Cabinet Decision on 16-6-2006 which approved the setting up of Circuit Bench of Calcutta High Court at Jalpaiguri and the visit by a team of Judges led by Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to the proposed site of the Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri on 30-08-2018 to assess the progress regarding the infrastructure facilities there, the PIB release reads.
