The compound wall of Madurai District Court complex has been painted with a uniform colour and now sports a neat and clean look following a news item published in The Hindu on July 8 against unauthorised use of the wall for political propaganda.
The news story carried in these columns had highlighted the need for the court complex to be bereft of political wall writings.
It suggested that the space could, instead, be used for educating people about their legal rights and the means through which they could be claimed.
According to A.K. Ramasamy, secretary, Madurai Bar Association, the court campus was functioning without a full fledged compound wall for a number of years leading to many incidents of theft inside the building housing the lawyers’ chambers.
“It was only at the instance of the Bar that the compound wall was built early this year. But within days after its construction, it became free for all with many political parties using it as a medium for hailing their leaders though the lawyers were against such practice,” Mr. Ramasamy added.
Judges at the Madras High Court Bench here as well as the Principal District Judge also disapproved of such action and the wall writings were erased with the assistance of the police. It was made clear that any one misusing the compound wall in the future would be prosecuted, he said.
Welcoming the cleaning up process, R. Gandhi, a High Court lawyer, reiterated his opinion that the courts must not only be independent of political or executive interference but also visibly seen to be independent in order to gain the confidence of litigants.
