A convention of the South Zone chapter of All-India Lawyers Union on Sunday demanded setting up of Supreme Court benches in all four regions of the country.
A resolution adopted at the convention here asked the President and the Chief Justice of India to notify Supreme Court benches in Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and “any suitable place in the southern states.”
Earlier inaugurating the convention, former Supreme Court Judge V. R. Krishna Iyer said benches of the apex court should be set up in all the four regions so that poor people could have access to the highest court of the country.
Majority of people were poor and hence travelling to Delhi to litigate their grievance was impossible, he said.
“The Supreme Court is for Indians or only for India. To my mind if the Supreme Court is for Indians, four benches (in south, east, north and west) are obligatory,” he said.
Noting that Justice was not the concern of the Bar alone, he said the convention must pass a resolution “asking judges to demand four benches or at least a Southern Bench“.
Kerala Advocate General C. P. Sudhakara Prasad said if needed Constitution could be amendment for the purpose.
The 18th Law Commission chaired by former Supreme Court Judge A. R. Lakshman had recommended the establishment of four apex court benches, he said.
P. Rajeev, Member Parliamentary Consultative Committee, Ministry of Law and Justice, pledged his support for setting up of the apex court benches.
Over 300 delegates from Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Puducherry attended the convention.
