Working on Saturdays can help reduce backlog: CJ

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JAN. 6. The Chief Justice of the Madras High Court, Mr. N. K. Jain, today said working on Saturdays would help the subordinate courts to dispose of the arrears accumulating on weekdays.

Addressing an anniversary meeting of the TN Judicial Officers Association (TNJOA), Chief Justice Mr. Jain, said he was told that advocates were busy in their chambers for drafting work on Saturdays. Once the advocates were working, they could attend courts also for some urgent matters and have ``the blessings of the clients''.

On Saturdays, the arrears of the week concerned could be disposed of and execution matters could also be heard, he noted.

The Chief Justice's remarks came in the wake of the court boycott agitation announced by different advocates associations, to protest against the introduction of the six-day working week for lower courts and increase in working hours.

He said the increase in work hours was four to five hours a week, including on Saturdays. Extra casual leave had been provided to the officers and staff.

In most of the other States, Saturdays were working hours. ``When a benefit hitherto enjoyed is taken back, naturally it causes concern and it may take some time to adjust.

But we have to think that by making Saturday as working days, the public at large would benefit to a greater extent'', Mr. Justice Jain added.

Representations for and against the issue were being received from different advocates associations and ``We will consider the same''.

The Chief Justices, who declared the launching of a judicial officers' welfare scheme, said keeping in view ``the alarming pendency of cases, the Judges should not accede to request for adjournments in a routine manner or for the mere asking.

The effort should be for speedy disposal of cases.''

He presented a cheque for Rs. 1 lakh to the widow of S. Manoharan, a judicial officer, who died in service. Mr. Justice V. S. Sirpurkar, presented a letter appointing the late officer's wife as a ministerial staff in the department.

Mr. Justice K. Narayana Kurup, Mr. Justice Sirpurkar and Mr. Justice R. Jayasimha Babu, lauded the launching of the welfare scheme and the gesture of the judicial officers who voluntarily donated Rs. 1 lakh and presented it to their deceased colleague's family.

The sudden death of the officer, in the background of high medicare costs in the country, made the welfare scheme more relevant today, they noted.

Mr. S. Baskaran, secretary, TNJOA, explaining the welfare scheme said each member provided a one-time Rs. 3,000 payment, to create a corpus, that could be used for giving assistance to the judges for medicare or to the family in case of sudden death.

The Association's president, Mr. K. Balasubramanian and treasurer, Mr. R.V.R. Deenadayalan, were among those who spoke.

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