A delegation from Shivamogga, led by School Education Minister and district in-charge Minister Madhu Bangarappa, met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on Wednesday and urged him to establish a circuit bench of the Karnataka High Court in Shivamogga.

In a letter submitted to the Chief Minister, Mr. Bangarappa argued that a circuit bench in Shivamogga was necessary to handle cases arising from Shivamogga, Davanagere, Chitradurga, and Chikkamagaluru districts. He said the city met all the parameters required for a circuit bench serving the central region of the State, as recommended by the Justice Jaswanth Singh Commission.

“The volume of cases reaching the High Court annually from these districts justifies a circuit bench. The demand has the support of advocates, farmers, and various non-governmental organisations,” he said.

Separately, representatives of the Shivamogga Bar Association also submitted a memorandum to the Chief Minister. The association pointed out that districts in the central region were 250 to 300 kilometres from Bengaluru, and that a circuit bench in Shivamogga was essential in the interest of litigants from the region.

The association also noted that 18 of the 106 designated senior advocates of the Karnataka High Court hailed from Shivamogga, and that some had expressed willingness to relocate to the city if a bench were established there. It also made clear its opposition to any proposal to bring Shivamogga under the purview of a proposed bench in Mangaluru, which is being considered to serve the coastal and Malnad regions.

The delegation included senior advocate K. Basappa Gowda, Shivamogga Bar Association president G.R. Raghavendra Swamy, and advocates K.P. Sripal, Lakshmikanth Chimanur, Srinivas, and others.