• Hon’ble Mr. Justice Nelson Sailo Judge, Gauhati High Court
• Hon’ble Mrs. Justice Marli Vankung Judge, Gauhati High Court
• Mr. C. Lalramzauva Senior Advocate Adviser to Chief Minister
• Mr. Joel Joseph Denga Registrar, Gauhati High Court
Dear Friends
I am extremely happy to be with you today, as we celebrate the Platinum Jubilee of the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court on completion of 75 years.
The Gauhati High Court as of today emerged from the High Court of Assam, which was established with effect from 5th April, 1948. Initially, sittings were held at Shillong, but were shifted to Gauhati from 14th August 1948.
Later on, the Assam High Court came to be known as the High Court of Assam and Nagaland on the constitution of Nagaland in 1963.
The North Eastern Area (Reorganization) Act, 1971 established a common High Court for the five States of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura, and the two Union Territories of Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, called as the Gauhati High Court.
From 20th February 1987, a common High Court for the State of Assam, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh came into being.
Apart from the Principal Seat at Guwahati, there are 3 (three) outlying Benches, viz, Kohima Bench for Nagaland, Aizawl Bench for Mizoram, and Itanagar Bench for Arunachal Pradesh.
The Gauhati High Court occupied a unique position of being a common High Court for all the seven States of North East India till 23rd March 2013, when separate High Courts were set up for Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura.
The Gauhati High Court administers Justice in an area having enormous geographical and ethnic variations. The legal and judicial scenario is more varied.
Divergent laws govern the people of the region. I understand that the indigenous inhabitants of the hill areas are primarily adapted to the conciliatory process rather than the adversary system.
Some of the customary practices for settlement of disputes practiced in this area are expeditious and lasting.
The Gauhati High Court is a unique one, whereby a single institution exercises jurisdiction throughout the entire four North Eastern States.
The jurisdiction of the Assam High Court was extended to the Sixth Schedule areas vide Assam High Court (Jurisdiction over District Council Courts) Order 1954.
The Aizawl Bench of the Gauhati High Court was established on 5th July, 1990.
The High Court Building is under construction at the New Capital Complex (MINECO).
Since separation of Judiciary in Mizoram in 2008, the High Court is doing superintendence over all courts and tribunals within Mizoram.
I have been told that the residents of this State are peace loving by nature, and as such, there is less number of cases as compared to the other parts of the country.
As we all know, the Judiciary is one of the most important Pillars in a Democracy. The Judiciary is expected to be the Guardian of the Constitution.
Many times, the common people look to the courts as the last resort for justice. In our country, the Judiciary has played an important role in guiding the Legislature and the Executive.
I take this opportunity to highlight one issue which has plagued our judicial system, which is the inordinate delay in pronouncing judgments in court cases. I am certain that all the stakeholders are doing their best to remedy this problem. I urge the judicial community to hasten up the process wherever possible, so that justice is delivered to the needy at the earliest. As the legal maxim goes, "Justice delayed is justice denied".
On the topic of today’s Seminar, regarding the way forward for the Judiciary in Mizoram, I have been told that the eCourts Integrated Mission Mode Project is being pursued in our State.
The advancement in information and communication technology is perhaps the most spectacular and robust development or progress in the world today.
Today, we are bombarded with plethora of information through facebook, whatsapp, e-mails, twitter, instagram etc.
In order to equip ourselves, the Courts must have sufficient machinery, hardware, software, applications, connectivity etc.
The eCourts Mission Mode Project is aiming at providing these necessary requirements.
I have learnt that Phase-I and Phase-II of the eCourts Project has been completed, and that the third Phase is initiated.
All these endeavors are made for creating a transparent environment and easily accessible information.
In this way, I am happy that the Mizoram judiciary is taking initiatives to tap the full potential of information and communication technology.
At the same time, we are equipping ourselves against the menace of Cyber Crime.
In conclusion, I congratulate all the members of the judicial community in Mizoram on this happy occasion of the Platinum Jubilee of the Hon’ble Gauhati High Court.
Thank you.
Jai Hind.
