MUMBAI, July 16 -- Lawyers will meet in Mumbai on Wednesday to discuss an issue that has been hanging fire for years - the setting up of a bench of the Bombay High Court in Kolhapur. The meeting has been convened by the Advocates' Association of Western India (AAWI). Talk of the proposed bench has been doing the rounds for a while now but the buzz has gathered momentum in the high court in recent times. If set up, the bench would cater to six districts in the state, which could ease the burden of cases on the Bombay High Court's principal bench in Mumbai. The high court has issued no official communication about a bench in Kolhapur being under consideration, nor have the offices of the chief justice or registrar general commented on the matter. Lawyers, however, will meet to discuss the issue. In an invitation sent to senior members of the AAWI to attend the special general body meeting on Wednesday, Prashant Relekar, president of the AAWI, said, "This is in regard to discussion about establishment of Kolhapur Bench which (is) going on. Establishment of such a Bench would affect several members and mostly junior members who have settled in and around Mumbai." Relekar said lawyers who work on cases from Kolhapur and neighbouring districts are worried about the future of their law practice in Mumbai if their cases are moved to a proposed bench in Kolhapur. "Some members of our association expressed concern about what they may face if this happens. They have worked hard in Mumbai and settled here and they are worried. That is why we are having an urgent meeting." The AAWI is a 160-year-old, influential lawyers' body with over 4,000 members. Its secretary, Suresh Sabrad, sent a notice to the association's members on WhatsApp, saying, "This meeting is urgently called for discussion and passing necessary resolutions in respect of the proposed Kolhapur Bench." Senior advocate Rajiv Chavan, former president of AAWI, who has been invited to attend the meeting, said, "Such a meeting was also held in 2017 but, at the time, the majority of members was not in support of a proposed bench in Kolhapur. This time it may be possible. I think a bench in Kolhapur would be good because litigation is for litigants, after all. If they can curtail their litigation expenses by not having to travel to Mumbai, then it is their right." The demand for a bench in Kolhapur goes back more than a decade. Lawyers in Kolhapur had staged a protest in 2012, demanding a bench of the high court in their city. CM Devendra Fadnavis, who holds the law portfolio, said the state cabinet had given its consent for the bench in 2015, during his previous stint as CM. However, he clarified, it is the prerogative of the high court to decide. "We have given consent to provide the legal infrastructure and logistical support required as and when they take a final decision. This is a long-standing demand of the people of Kolhapur, Satara, Sangli, Solapur and parts of the Konkan," Fadnavis told HT. The demand for a bench in Kolhapur resurfaced after Chief Justice of India, B R Gavai, at his felicitation in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar in June, backed the demand and said justice should be made accessible to "every citizen in every corner." If a bench is set up in Kolhapur, the Bombay High Court would become the high court with the highest number of benches in the country. It already has benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Goa....