DIMAPUR, AUG 31 (NPN): Nagaland Bar Association (NBA) on Monday stated that it had issued a three-month ultimatum on the state government to appoint the Advocate General (AG) from among members of the legal fraternity in Nagaland and to take steps for completing the new High Court Complex at Meriema at the earliest.
The memorandum, signed by NBA president A. Zhimomi and secretary S. Keyho, was submitted to chief minister and minister-in-charge of Law & Justice Neiphiu Rio on June 13, 2026, following resolutions adopted unanimously at the NBA Executive Committee meeting held on June 8. The three-month deadline is set to expire on September 13.
NBA said it had been submitting representations from time to time, requesting the government to consider appointing the AG from among members of the legal fraternity in the State. It said the representations and meetings with the chief minister on the issue had remained fruitless.
NBA resolution noted that since the inception of Statehood in 1963, no member of the legal fraternity in the State had been considered for appointment as the AG. It resolved that the government must appoint the AG from among members of the legal fraternity in the State within three months, failing which the Bar would take consequential action, including, but not limited to, boycotting the incumbent AG in all proceedings, whether physical or virtual, and other appropriate action.
NBA said it had also deliberated on the construction of the new High Court Complex at Meriema, noting that construction began in 2007 and the project was yet to be completed.
The association said it was the responsibility of the State to put in place adequate infrastructure for a robust and effective judiciary, one of the three organs of the State. It resolved to submit a memorandum to the government seeking appropriate steps to complete the new High Court Complex at the earliest.
NBA stated that it was a “slur upon the legal fraternity in the State” for the government, in existence for over 60 years since 1963, to posit that the legal profession in the State had not come of age or that the legal fraternity did not have competent members to be appointed Advocate General. It further stated that the State must accord priority to judicial infrastructure and that the judiciary could not be treated as an “unwanted organ” of the State capable of being relegated to the background.
NBA said the issues raised in the memorandum were of “utmost importance to public interest” and that Nagaland must have a robust and effective judiciary.
As decided at the Executive Committee meeting on June 8, NBA said it put the government on notice and demanded that the Advocate General be appointed from among members of the State legal fraternity within three months. It also demanded that adequate resources be provided on a priority basis to complete the construction of the new High Court Complex at Meriema.
