There is no argument between them over this. Judges and lawyers of the Madras High Court have amicably agreed to play a T-20 cricket match at the MAC stadium in Chepauk here on January 7.
And on that day, black robes will change to white clothes, case bundles will be replaced with cricket kits and the bat and the ball will do all the talking. Chief Justice Indira Banerjee has consented for the conduct of the match at the request of Advocate General Vijay Narayan, who will be the non-playing captain of the lawyers’ team. Fifty-six-year-old Justice S. Manikumar, the third in seniority among the 60 judges of the High Court, will be captaining the judges’ team.
Level-playing field
According to court sources, Justice Rajiv Shakdher, 55, was one of the proponents of the idea. So far 10 judges, including Justices S. Vaidyanathan and V. Parthiban, have consented to playing in the match. More number of judges are expected to join in the next few days and the net practice is slated to begin on Saturday.
Though no age limit had been fixed for judges, it has been made clear that advocates above 50 years alone should be part of the lawyers’ team. The stipulation has been brought in to ensure a level-playing field since most of the judges were above 50 years of age, except people like P.D. Audikesavalu, who is 47 years old.
A court official said some of the judges have shown keen interest in playing the match and have agreed to come regularly for net practice too early in the mornings during Christmas holidays. The match would be held in a professional way and the Chief Justice would hand over the trophy as well as the man of the match onward. “It has been nearly 30 years since a Pongal Test was held here. Interestingly, a week before Pongal, we will get to witness the judges and lawyers lock horns. Let’s see who wins,” he bantered.
