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Tamil Nadu
Special Correspondent
Call for computerisation of the judiciary, more courts and judges Pendency of over two crore cases is a major problem the judiciary faces
PRESSING THE BUTTON: Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan (second from right), laying the foundation for combined court buildings at Egmore on Saturday.(From left) Supreme Court Judge Markandey Katju, Chief Justice of the Madras High Court A.P. Shah and State Law Minister Durai Murugan are in the picture.
CHENNAI: Calling for substantial budgetary support, computerisation of the judiciary, more courts and judges, Chief Justice of India, K.G. Balakrishnan, on Saturday congratulated the Tamil Nadu Government for taking a lead in allotment of funds for the judiciary. Laying the foundation for combined magistrate court buildings at Egmore on Saturday, the Chief Justice said pendency of over two crore cases was a major problem the judiciary faced. The institution was being criticised by the litigant-public for the delay in disposals, he added. On an average, State Governments were setting apart only 0.78 per cent of their annual plan outlay for the judiciary, Mr. Justice Balakrishnan said. “We do require courts. Unless courts are fully established, it is not possible to dispose of the large number of pending cases.” Plea for more judges
Disclosing that he had received recommendations from various High Courts for increasing the number of Judges, he said he proposed to increase the strength after considering the number of cases pending in each court. He said the Tamil Nadu Government had increased its allocation to Rs.300 crore, from less than Rs.1 crore about 10 years ago. Earlier, Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, A.P. Shah, said there was an imminent necessity to augment the strength of the High Court by another 20 Judges. At present, its sanctioned strength was 49. Despite an impressive disposal rate, the highest in the country, the court was unable to keep the incidence of fresh cases below the disposal rate. Mr. Justice Shah said the Tamil Nadu Government had taken a “very positive step” to construct 72 new court buildings, including 50 magistrate courts, in 2007. It would also construct combined court complexes in 12 districts. Mr. Justice Shah announced that the State Government had cleared his proposal to establish evening courts in all districts. No court in Tamil Nadu will function from a rented building in the next five years, Minister for Law and Public Works Department, Durai Murugan, said. He said the Government had allocated Rs.300 crore for the judiciary, as against a total of Rs.33 crore during the last five years. “This reflects the respect and esteem this Government has for the judiciary.” A sum of Rs.125 crore was allotted for building court halls and residential quarters this year. There could be differences of opinion among various wings of democracy, but there should not be any conflict of ideas among them, he said, underlining the need for each wing to function within its limits and jurisdiction. Demand for quarters
Supreme Court Judge Markandey Katju wanted official residential quarters for all subordinate judicial officers, as about 30 per cent of them did not have quarters at present. As for the pool car system, he called upon the Minister to arrange a car for a batch of three judicial officers, instead of five. He also wanted the Government to give mobile phones to all subordinate judicial officers, along with a monthly provision of 1,000 free calls. Another Supreme Court Judge, V.S. Sirpurkar, hailed the “bold and welcome step of the Tamil Nadu Government, which had infused some life into the financial affairs of the judiciary. Unless the judiciary is given funds it cannot work.” He cautioned that the funds should be used judiciously. While Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya said a certain percentage of the annual budget should be earmarked for the judiciary, Justice P.D. Dinakaran, who heads the committee constituted for constructing buildings for subordinate courts in Tamil Nadu, said no other Government had allocated Rs.300 crore for any State judiciary. R. Raji, Chief Engineer (Buildings), PWD, said two blocks housing a total of 17 court halls, chambers, a canteen, association premises and a record room would come up at Egmore. V. Periyakaruppiah, Principal Judge, City Civil Court, welcomed the gathering. S. Rajagopalan, Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (in-charge), proposed a vote of thanks.
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