Chief Justice for restructuring judiciary

Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court Madan B. Lokur on Sunday expressed his eagerness to restructure judiciary in the State with a view to speedup disposal of cases in courts and said he hoped to meet Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy shortly to discuss the matter.

Delivering the valedictory address for a two- day workshop on ‘speedy justice for victims of sex trafficking' at the Andhra Pradesh Judicial Academy, Justice Lokur said the High Court wanted to install video conferencing facility with the help of e-committee of Supreme Court in all courts by the end of the year. The objective was to enable magistrates record statements of victims of trafficking who resided outside the district.

The video conferencing was suggested by Joint Commissioner of Police (Administration) Mahesh M. Bhagwat in his speech earlier. He said the facility will enable victims overcome the stigma attached to appearing in courts and also eliminate the threat of intimidation by accused during journey.

Justice Lokur, however, said videoconferencing had its own disadvantage as people were shy of facing camera.

On fake sureties being furnished in courts, the Chief Justice said the problem was owing to professionals on the job who stood surety in multiple courts. A programme prepared by Ministry of Home Affairs recently enabled tracking down surety givers court wise. He said he had sought certain modifications to the programme.

Justice Lokur also said the interviews for selection of court managers would be held this or next week. The managers would help courts in organising work. For instance, they would guide outstation witnesses to other courts for recording statement if the designated judge was on leave.

He said sex traffickers were ruthless people who went to any extent to make a fast buck. He advised judicial officers to analyse evidence against such people carefully.

Mr. Mahesh Bhagwat insisted on speedy trial in cases of sex trafficking because the victims got married and refused to attend to court if the matter was delayed.

At a separate function, Justice Lokur awarded medals to top ranking students of post graduate diploma in alternative dispute resolution at the NALSAR university of law.

Addressing the gathering, the Chief Justice said mediation was gaining acceptance among the people and there was a need for those engaged in the profession to maintain highest standards.