Kiren Rijiju condemns statement of Allahabad HCBA; 'never commented on HC bench in Agra'

On Tuesday, November 23, Kiren Rijiju denounced the statement of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association Elders' Committee. On Monday, the Elders' Committee of the Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA) launched a 'Sangharsh Samiti' to plan the manner of action to protest the Union Law Minister's recent announcement regarding the establishment of an Allahabad High Court bench in Agra. They described it as "childish, politically motivated and a fabulous statement." Minister of Law and Justice, Kiren Rijiju, wrote on Twitter, "I strongly condemn the statement of Allahabad High Court Bar Association Elders' Committee. I've never made a statement on the subject of HC Bench. When a representation was submitted to me at Agra, I only said that Government will look into the memorandum."

HCBA labels Rijiju's statement 'politically motivated'

Recently, Rijiju stated at an event in Agra that the Central government was investigating the viability of establishing an Allahabad high court bench in Agra for the benefit of lawyers and litigants in western Uttar Pradesh. The Elders' Committee, which currently leads the Allahabad High Court Bar Association (HCBA), described the union law minister's statement as politically motivated in a press release issued on Monday, adding, as and when the elections come, such misleading statements are issued by politicians at the helm of affairs, which is nothing but a political stunt to gain an undue advantage of voters from a particular district.

Furthermore, the release stated, it is a ploy to create schisms between the Agra Bar and the Meerut district, which has long fought for the establishment of a bench in Meerut. "The Union law minister is supposed to know that without the concurrence of chief justice of the high court, Allahabad, no such proposal can be aired. The person who is holding the post of Union law minister is supposed to know this much of legal position," the committee added, according to the statement.

Image: PTI