Motor vehicle accident claims of Rs.3.67 crore were distributed in a ‘mega adalat’ organised in connection with the bicentennial celebrations of the Thiruvananthapuram District Court and Bar Association here on Saturday.
High Court Judge and judge-in-charge of Thiruvananthapuram District Pius C. Kuriakose said this was the first time in the State that such a huge amount was distributed, that too on the same day of settlement of the claims at an adalat.
Inaugurating the adalat, Mr. Kuriakose said such immediate settlement and on-the-spot disbursal of claims by insurance companies would help such adalats gain in popularity. This, in turn, would bring down the number of pending cases as well.
Bar association president K.P. Jayachandran said 369 cases were settled on Saturday. The National Insurance Company Limited paid claims of Rs.1.76 crore for 102 cases, while the New India Assurance Company Limited paid claims to the tune of Rs.95.7 lakh for the same number of cases. The Oriental Insurance Company settled claims of Rs.77.66 lakh for 90 cases while the United India Insurance Company paid claims totalling Rs.77.15 lakh in 67 cases.
Later, in programmes organised in connection with the bicentennial celebrations on the court complex premises, Finance Minister K.M. Mani and High Court Judge C.N. Ramachandran Nair commissioned a ‘Bicentenary Bell’ in the court complex.
The bell, to be a reminder of punctuality for the judiciary, will be sounded at 10 a.m. for the court staff, at 11 a.m. for court proceedings to begin, at 1.30 p.m. and 2.45 p.m. to signal the start and end of the lunch break and at 5 p.m., to bring curtains downs on each day’s proceedings.
High Court Judge C.K. Abdul Rehim later opened the Tribunal for Local Self-government Institutions in the new court building. Justice Kuriakose said the three tribunals with State-wide jurisdiction, including LSG Tribunal, the University Appellate Tribunal and the Kerala Cooperative Tribunal, would soon begin functioning in the court complex instead of from different spots across the city. A film on domestic violence, ‘Voice of the Voiceless,’ was screened on the occasion. Mr. Mani, Mr. Nair, Mr. Rehim and Deputy Leader of the Opposition Kodiyeri Balakrishnan distributed the cheques for the claims. District and Sessions Judge B. Sudheendra Kumar, Mr. Jayachandran, and Bar Association secretary Anayara Shaji spoke.
