“Judiciary is the last resort of a common man… and in every case a judge hears, he has to bear in mind the majesty of the law, the contribution that it can make to the betterment of society and the protection it can give to the humble and the weak pitted against the rich and the powerful,” said Supreme Court Judge Rajesh Kumar Agrawal here in February.
However, ironically, people with political clout have now been challenging even the majesty of the district court here by pasting posters and painting political messages on its compound wall, rues S. Mohandass, president of an advocates’ association. “Such an act demeans the institution and lowers its esteem in the eyes of litigants,” he says.
According to him, the appearance of a court campus is as important as the judgements delivered by the presiding officers in order to gain the confidence of the common man on the institution and that is exactly why court buildings have been designed and constructed in a grand manner right from the days of the British rule, besides being maintained with great care.
“The tradition continues till date but only with respect to the higher judiciary in the State. If the buildings of the Madras High Court Bench here are an example of how a court should look like, the district court campus stands as an example for how a court should not look like. It is high time the authorities concerned began a crackdown on elements who challenge the judiciary,” he adds.
Omni-presentLawyer V. Linganathadurai points out that the posters, flex boards and wall paintings put up in the name of politicians as well as caste-based leaders can be found not only on the compound wall but also on the entrance of the district court and even inside the campus. “Allowing such things is tantamount to encouraging division among court staff and lawyers on caste and political lines,” he adds.
Recalling how the district court took steps in July 2012, on the instructions of the then administrative judge of the Madras High Court Bench here, to remove the posters on its compound wall, erase wall paintings and whitewash the entire stretch, he feels similar steps should be taken again, besides making sure that in future no one dares to spoil court property.
Advocate S. Muthukumar suggests that the court should prosecute those who spoil the compound wall and recover damages from them. The money should be used to repaint the wall and use the space to educate the common man about the Legal Services Authority, the benefits of settling cases through Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism and so on.
Reserving space“Those who paste posters and resort to wall writings do not dare to touch police property. But I don’t find such fear when it comes to defacing the court compound wall. It is because these elements are not taken to task. They have the audacity even to reserve space on the court wall for wall writings related to marriage functions by mentioning their party name,” he laments.
Stressing the need to maintain the dignity and decorum of the court, he says that it is a pity that the district court continues to be a free-for-all campus despite being situated just a few km away from a Bench of the Madras High Court, the highest judicial institution of the State.
