Governed by the principle of timely justice, Tamil Nadu Legal Services Authority initiated the State’s third Alternative Dispute Resolution Centre in Erode on Saturday.
Satish K. Agnihotri, Judge, High Court, Madras and Executive Chairman, Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority, who launched the centre at a function organised by the District Court officials and lawyers’ associations, said the ADR system introduced during 2010 in the country to dispense justice free of cost suits well the poor and the downtrodden sections of the society.
Awareness
Justice Agnihotri advocated awareness about the system at all levels, including prison inmates, and invited non-governmental organisations, lawyers and retired officials to become members of the ADR Centre and pave way for reducing pendency.
Justice Agnihotri launched the centre in the presence of three High Court Judges: Justices S. Nagamuthu, M.M. Sundresh and K.B.K. Vasuki; RMT Teeka Raman, Member Secretary, Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority; District Collector S. Prabakar; Principal District and Sessions Judge and District Legal Services Authority G.P. Elango; and a host of dignitaries.
The launch coincided with the start of an orientation programme for Judicial Officers and Para Legal Volunteers in Erode, Karur and Tirupur districts on NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) schemes.
Advantages
The High Court judges further explained the advantages inherent in the ADR Centre vis-a-vis the courts. Alongside reducing pendency, the centres reduces time delay and costs in delivering justice.
Also, the verdict would be acceptable to both the petitioner and respondent.
The tendency to approach the courts even for resolving petty cases has caused the huge pendency, they observed, and advocated hearing of all cases first in the ADR Centres. Only when there is no resolution at the ADR Centres, the cases must be taken to the courts. In the case of Erode district, civil cases (28,409) far outnumbered criminal cases (13,197).
Accident cases numbering 4,721 and 450 family disputes could be handled at the ADR centres, the speakers at the function said.
A. Shanmuga Sundaram, president, Bar Association; M.S. Dhivakar, secretary, Bar Association; M. Navaneetha Krishnan, president, Advocates’ Association; and S. Sivanandham, secretary, Advocates’ Association, also took part.
The launch coincided with the start of an orientation programme for judicial officers and para legal volunteers
