Special court to try cases relating to MPs, MLAs inaugurated

Judge of the High Court does the honours digitally from Hyderabad

Tech edge: Krishna district judges and BBA members at the inauguration of the special court in Vijayawada on Wednesday.

The criminal cases pending against the lawmakers in the courts of the 13 districts will be moved to and tried at the Special Court for Trial of Criminal Cases Relating to Elected MPs and MLAs, which was digitally inaugurated by High Court Judge Justice V. Ramasubramanian on Wednesday.

The new special court is accommodated in an existing building of the City Civil Courts complex.

Mr. Justice Ramasubramanian, sitting at his office in Hyderabad, sent an SMS to a designated mobile phone in the courtroom, which caused the curtains against the Judge’s podium to unroll, thus officially inaugurating the court. Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Justice Ramasubramanian said the Supreme Court had ordered the establishment of a special court to take up cases against the lawmakers following the case of Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay. With the cooperation of the State government, the initiative was taken forward.

“All the 124 criminal cases pending with the courts in the 13 districts will be transferred to Krishna district,” he said. Mr. Justice Ramasubramanian, who is also the administrative judge of Krishna district, appreciated the efforts of the Bezwada Bar Association, district judges, and public prosecutors, who had made the digital inauguration of courts an exemplary initiative.

Another distinction

“After the Tiruvuru and Jaggaiahpeta courts, this is the third one to be inaugurated digitally, saving money and valuable time. It is a history of sorts and has drawn the attention of everyone. The acting Chief Justice [of the High Court] also wanted all future inaugurations to be digital,” he said. He added that speedy disposal of the cases would help the district get more courts. The special court with 28 staff members would be headed by the district judge, N. Ramesh Babu.

Principal District and Sessions Judge, Krishna, Machilipatnam, Y. Lakshmana Rao, Metropolitan Sessions Judge A.V. Ravindra Babu, Bezawada Bar Association president Somu Krishna Murthy, and others were present.

The technology and equipment for the digital inauguration were facilitated by the ECE Department of Sree Vahini Institute of Science and Technology, Tiruvuru.