CJI to open permanent home for Jalpaiguri circuit bench on Jan 17
Times of India | 12 January 2026
Jalpaiguri: The Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench of Calcutta High Court, which has been functional since March 2019, will get a permanent home on Jan 17, to be inaugurated by CJI Surya Kant in the presence of five other Supreme Court judges. The chief justices of at least five high courts, other than Calcutta HC, are likely to attend the programme.
The bench — which caters to litigants from Cooch Behar, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Kalimpong and Darjeeling districts — now operates from the Jalpaiguri Zilla Parishad Dak Bungalow on Station Feeder Road.
"Although the new court building will be inaugurated on Jan 17, it will be functional only in March. The shifting will be done in between," a court official said.
The circuit bench typically operates with one division bench and two single-judge benches at any given time, though the exact number of judges vary from time to time. The Bar at the circuit bench has long been demanding a permanent bench as the judges now hear cases twice or thrice a month in Jalpaiguri. Once the permanent infrastructure is functional, the circuit bench will start catering to Malda, North and South Dinajpur districts. Later, it will be converted into a permanent bench and will function like any regular bench of the high court.
According to data in the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG), 4,419 cases are currently pending before the Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench, of which 3,080 are civil and the rest criminal. In 2025, a total of 5,323 cases were disposed of by the circuit bench.
The senior govt pleader of the bench, Arun Kumar Sarkar, said the inclusion of more districts would double the number of cases before the circuit bench. "Now, cases from these districts (North and South Dinajpur, and Malda) go directly to the principal bench. The inclusion of these districts within the jurisdiction of the circuit bench will bring the judiciary closer home for many more people," Sarkar said.
The permanent court building has come up on a 40-acre plot in Jalpaiguri's Paharpur, off NH 27. The judiciary had taken over the land from Siliguri Jalpaiguri Development Authority in 2007.
Along with the 5-storey court building, the PWD has also constructed a bungalow for the high court chief justice and 10 more bungalows for HC judges. The court complex will also have a 400-seat auditorium and a swimming pool. The court building resembles the Calcutta High Court main building. "Sixteen benches (seven single-judge benches and eight division benches) can function from the new court building," an official said.