Bhubaneswar: In what could be termed as a major jolt to the Odisha government amid proposal for formation of Padampur district, the High Court on Thursday restricted the government to form new districts without the court’s permission.
Hearing a petition filed by Akshaya Kumar Mohanty, President of Rairangpur District Kriyanusthan Committee, a High Court bench comprising Justice BR Sarangi and Justice Murahari Sri Raman said, “This Court feels it necessary that the process of re-organization of district, which the State Government wants to undertake, may continue but no final order shall be passed without leave of this Court.”
The petitioner, who is also the President of Rairangpur Bar Association, had filed the writ petition in the nature of public interest litigation seeking direction to the government to constitute a high-level committee under the chairmanship of an incumbent/ retired judge of the High Court in order to examine the demands for creation of new districts in Odisha.
Mohanty had further sought direction to the government to declare Rairangpur as a new district taking Bamanghati (commonly known as Rairangpur) and Panchapid (commonly known as Karanjia) sub-divisions under its fold.
Advocate General A.K. Parija who appeared along with Additional Government Advocate D.K. Mohanty for the government sought time to obtain instructions in the matter. The case has been listed for hearing, two weeks after the winter holidays.
“On the basis of the pleadings available on record, it appears that the State is going to make further districts without having any guidelines or principles and at the caprice and whims of the Government, new districts have been created. As such, with regard to power of formation of new district, save and except the report of the Justice Raj Kishore Das Committee in the year 1975 and the Cabinet Sub-Committee of 1991, nothing is made available or placed on record as to how to re-organize the districts in the recent days. Therefore, as the learned Advocate General prayed for and is granted time to obtain instructions in the matter, this Court feels it necessary that the process of re-organization of district, which the State Government wants to undertake may continue, but no final order shall be passed without leave of this Court,” the High Court said.
