Mangaluru: As part of the demand for a High Court bench in Mangaluru, Advocate and MLC Ivan D'Souza, who is also the convener of the High Court Peeta Horata Samiti, a committee formed by the Bar Association last week, met with representatives of various organizations in Mangaluru on Tuesday. They will also meet with the Chief Minister and Law Minister in Bengaluru in two days.
Ivan met with representatives of The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industries, SDM Law College, Builders Association, and Doctors Association on Tuesday.
“It was a fruitful meeting. We spoke to them about the need for the bench and they too have agreed,” Ivan D’Souza told Deccan Chronicle after the meeting on Tuesday evening.
He said that the committee seeks support from all sections of society.
“Lawyers have already expressed their support. We want support from all sections of society. In two days, we will meet with the Chief Minister of Karnataka, the Law Minister, and the Administrative Judge of Dakshina Kannada district. Later, we will also meet with the Supreme Court Judge and Union Law Minister, as the central government's consent is needed for this,” he added.
Ivan stated that land is available in the city for this purpose.
“The district prison, situated in the heart of the city, is scheduled to be shifted to the outskirts. There are 9 acres of land, which is enough for the High Court bench. We propose this land for the bench,” he said.
“Once the DC office is shifted, that land will also be available. The same applies to the SP office. We have enough land in the city,” he said.
Ivan, who spoke about the significant number of litigations in the region, emphasized Dakshina Kannada's contribution to the judiciary, citing five law colleges and numerous advocates.
He added that the proposed bench could serve Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu, and Hassan districts.