Kohima: Congress Lok Sabha MP from Nagaland, Supongmeren Jamir, has reiterated the long-standing demand for a separate High Court for Nagaland, urging the Ministry of Home Affairs to take immediate steps to amend the North-Eastern Areas (Re-organization) Act, 1971.
Raising the matter under Rule 377 of “Rules and Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha” on Monday, Jamir said, Nagaland, which became the 16th state of India on December 1, 1963, has shared the Gauhati High Court with other northeastern states since 1971.
While states like Tripura, Meghalaya, and Manipur established their own High Courts in 2013, Nagaland continues to be under the jurisdiction of the Gauhati High Court despite being the second senior-most state in the region after Assam.
Under Section 13 of the State of Nagaland Act, 1962, Nagaland was initially provided with a common High Court with Assam. In 1972, a Circuit Bench was inaugurated in Kohima, which was later declared a Permanent Bench under the Gauhati High Court on February 10, 1990. However, the demand for a separate High Court, as mandated under Article 214 of the Constitution, remains unfulfilled.
In April 2021, the Nagaland state cabinet approved the proposal for a separate High Court and decided to pursue the matter with the Centre. The necessary infrastructure, including a newly constructed High Court complex in Meriema with seven courtrooms, eight separate bungalows, a High Court Bar Association building, and other facilities, has already been completed.
Despite official communications in July 2021 from the Department of Justice and the Nagaland government to the Ministry of Home Affairs, seeking the amendment of the North-Eastern Areas (Re-organization) Act, 1971, the issue has seen no substantial progress.
Raising the matter, the MP urged the Centre to expedite the process and address the long-pending demand of the people of Nagaland. ” However, the aspiration of the people of Nagaland remains a far cry. I request through your chair to kindly plead Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, to take up the issue urgently,” the MP said.
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