Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice Dipankar Datta and other High Court Judges seen with South Goa Sessions Judge, B P Deshpande at the Sessions Court, South Goa on the occasion of the inauguration of eSEWA Kendra.
Photo Credits: Santosh Mirajkar
MARGAO
Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Justice Dipankar Datta assured members of the South Goa Advocates Association that the Court will take a fresh decision on the timings of Bombay High Court at Goa after the Court is shifted to the new building.
The CJ, however, made it clear to the South Goa Advocates Association president, Antonio Clovis Costa that the Court had effected changes in the timings of the High Court in Goa based on the decision of the Bar Association.
“Yesterday, I met some of the members of the Bar and I told them what is required to be done by them. Let there be a consensus on the issue. The Advocates should be united. It was only on the basis of the representation by the Bar Association that the decision was taken to change the morning timings to 9 am. Once we shift to the new High Court building, we will take a fresh decision on the timings. Let this decision continue till the summer vacation. Give us some time since we are trying to move into the new High Court building as fast as possible”, Justice Dipankar explained to Adv Clovis Costa.
Calling for concerted action by all the advocates on the issue of timings, Justice Dipankar reminded that Goa is not a big state and that the advocates should come to a consensus on the timings and take a decision.
The Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court was at the South Goa Sessions Court along with other High Court Judges for the inauguration of the e-kendra at the Court premises when the president of the South Goa Advocates Association, Adv Antonio Clovis Costa took up the issue of the High Court timings.
Adv Clovis Costa explained that the decision on court timings has adversely affected the lawyers as well as the litigants, especially from South Goa, hailing from remote parts of Canacona taluka. “Since the public transport in Goa is not well organised compared to a city like Mumbai, litigants from Canacona will have to start his travel in the wee hours of the day to reach the High court before 9 am,” he said.
He further pointed out that other than the Bar Association of Panjim and Mapusa, Bar Associations from across the state have lodged their strong objections to the change in court timings, while making a fervent plea to restore the old timings.
