Assam Advocate General Devajit Saikia resigned from the membership of the Gauhati High Court Bar Association following differences over the proposed relocation of the court.
The bar association is opposed to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led State government’s plan since 2023 to shift the high court from the heart of Guwahati to Rangmahal in New Guwahati across the Brahmaputra River. Members of the association have organised demonstrations against the plan too.
Mr. Saikia, also the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, submitted his resignation letter to the bar association’s president, Kamal Nayan Choudhury, on March 28.
He said that as the Advocate General, his constitutional and official duty demanded that he stood by the decision of the high court and the State government regarding the proposed shifting of the court premises. He added that the shifting was aimed at providing a “much better and conducive environment to the legal fraternity, comprising the lawyers, judges, litigants, registry, and multiple stakeholders” ahead.
Expressing his support for the decision to shift the high court “due to various deficiencies and shortfalls in the existing infrastructure”, he said the proposed site would provide a better working ambience to the new generation and upcoming lawyers while mitigating all existing deficiencies.
Mr. Saikia argued that the move would alleviate traffic congestion, provide modern infrastructure, and enhance judicial efficiency.
A senior advocate with more than three decades of legal practice, he was appointed Advocate General of Assam in 2021.
