Lawyers' Body To Hold Consultative Meeting On Karnataka High Court Bench At Mangaluru Ahead Of Three-Judge Committee's Feasibility Study. The meeting will be held on October 16 in Mangaluru. It comes after Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru set up a committee of Justices Anu Sivaraman, S.G. Pandit and Mohammad Nawaz to examine circuit or permanent benches in the coastal and Malnad regions.

The United Legal Research and Justice Trust, a body of advocates in Dakshina Kannada, has called a "Consultative Meeting and Solidarity Programme" for Friday, October 16, 2026. The meeting is meant to build public support for a Bench of the Karnataka High Court at Mangaluru.

It will be held at 4 PM at the Indian Red Cross Building, behind the old DC office at Statebank, Mangaluru. The Trust's invitation says the movement "has now reached a decisive stage" and asks citizens and public representatives of Coastal Karnataka for their "moral support". The invitation is framed around the slogan "Justice must reach the doorstep of the people."

According to the invitation, the aim is to end the hardship of "thousands of poor people" from Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Kodagu, Uttara Kannada, Chikkamagaluru and Shivamogga districts. These litigants, it says, "are forced to travel to Bengaluru in search of justice."

Committee constituted on September 29

The meeting follows a notification dated September 29, 2026. By that notification, Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru constituted a three-judge committee of Justice Anu Sivaraman, Justice S.G. Pandit and Justice Mohammad Nawaz. The committee will examine whether a circuit bench or a permanent bench of the High Court can be set up in the identified regions: Mangaluru, Udupi, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Kodagu-Madikeri, Hassan, Davanagere and Uttara Kannada. It has to consult all stakeholders before reporting to the High Court. (LiveLaw reported the notification earlier [link to 552362].)

The Karnataka High Court sits at Bengaluru and has permanent benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi.

What the Bar has sought

In a representation dated April 21, 2026, the Bar Association of Mangaluru asked Chief Justice Bakhru to set up a Circuit Bench at Mangaluru. It proposed that the bench start with one Division Bench and two Single Benches. The Association relied on Section 51(3) of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956. Under that provision, the Chief Justice may, with the Governor's approval, direct that Judges and Division Courts sit at other places in the State. The Association also said precedents within the State show that circuit benches can later be converted into permanent benches.

The Bar gave the following reasons:

• Cases are often listed at short notice, sometimes only the day before, so coastal litigants cannot reach Bengaluru in time.

• During the monsoon, landslides often cut off the Shiradi, Sampaje and Charmadi ghat roads.

• Many litigants speak Tulu, Konkani or Beary, which makes it hard for them to instruct advocates in Bengaluru.

• RTI data shows a "disproportionately low ratio of filings to disposals" for cases from the coastal region.

• Litigants must still file physical copies after e-filing, so lawyers have to travel to Bengaluru to cure office objections. The representation said this "defeats the very purpose of e-filing."

• Virtual hearings have not worked well in practice because of unstable internet, poor audio and dropped connections during arguments.

The representation calls "justice at the doorstep" a facet of the right to access justice under Articles 14 and 21. It cites the Dharwad and Kalaburagi benches as proof that judicial decentralisation works. It also says the Chief Minister orally supported a permanent bench and, as an interim step, a circuit bench, and assured financial and infrastructure support. According to the representation, MPs, MLAs and MLCs from the region support the demand across party lines.

An earlier representation to the Chief Minister, dated December 2, 2025, was made on behalf of Bar Associations of Dakshina Kannada, Udupi, Chikkamagaluru and Kodagu. It asked the State to earmark 10–15 acres of government land in Mangaluru for a High Court complex. It also pointed to Mangaluru's status as Karnataka's only port city. On that basis it argued that a bench is a "jurisdictional necessity" for admiralty claims under merchant shipping law and for Section 9 and Section 11 arbitration applications arising from shipping, petroleum and infrastructure contracts. It also listed education-law disputes from institutions in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, and litigation over local customs such as Aliyasantana. The representation says trade unions including BMS, INTUC and HMS, chambers of commerce and NGOs support the demand.

Opposition from Bengaluru Bar

Not everyone supports the demand. The Advocates' Association Bengaluru has opposed the proposal for a Mangaluru circuit bench. It called the proposal "wholly unwarranted and premature" in the absence of stakeholder consultation or an empirical study. The proposal was made in a May 13 letter by then Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

The committee has not yet scheduled its visits to the regions.