Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor has said that the basic issues involved in the decades-long demand for the setting up of a Bench of the High Court in the State capital must be addressed and swiftly acted upon.
Reacting in a press release here to the reported demand by the Kerala High Court Senior Advocates’ Association for closure of the recently constituted Kerala Administrative Tribunal at Thiruvananthapuram, Dr. Tharoor said the association’s reported view that the tribunal ‘served only the interests of retired judges and retired civil servants’ was in ‘bad taste and uncalled for’.
He said this was only indicative of a larger negative mindset about institutions in Thiruvananthapuram among certain sections, which had stymied the setting up of a Bench here.
MP’s solution
The MP said the solution was not to close down the tribunal but to set up a High Court Bench at Thiruvananthapuram alongside the tribunal. The bulk of the litigation in the High Court pertained to the government and it would be easier for the court to deal with the cases through a Bench in the capital where the State government is based.
On ‘disconnect’
At present, the geographical disconnect between the highest seat of justice in the State and the administration, which had to reply to a major portion of the litigation, was leading to delays and avoidable expenditure, he said.
