The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Four premium judiciary buildings await occupation

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Jun 12, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Four premium judiciary buildings await occupation

By A. Subramani

The new building of a judicial academy on Greenways Road in Chennai is ready for occupation. — Photo: K. V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI, JUNE 11. In these days of acute resource crunch, four top class new buildings of the Tamil Nadu judiciary, having a combined floor space of more than 2 lakh sqft and involving an investment of Rs. 80 crores, await utilisation.

The Madurai Bench complex of the Madras High Court, a judicial academy building on Greenways Road here, the II Additional Chambers complex and a new library-cum-meeting hall facility on the High Court premises are ready for occupation, but are yet to be put to use owing to procedural and technical hitches. The legal fraternity is looking forward to using these imposing structures.

Madurai Bench

Though the proposal for the Madruai Bench came about 12 years ago, it was formally put up for approval in 1995. The Full Court confirmed it in 2000, with a modification that it would be a permanent Bench and not a circuit Bench as originally mooted. After encountering obstacles to land acquisition and fund mobilisation, the project got a fillip when the present State Government decided to tap Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) funds.

The complex, including court halls, advocate chambers, guesthouses and residences for judges, is now ready. The construction of the over one lakh-sqft facility took nearly four years and involved an outlay of Rs. 60 crores. The grand three-storeyed complex has come up on 107 acres. The High Court Registry posted two Registrars for the Bench and transferred more than 150 staff members to work there. But long-drawn litigation harping on procedural formalities has delayed its inauguration.

Judicial Academy

The higher judiciary has ambitious plans for the judicial academy to be housed in a Rs. 4.5-crore complex, having a built-up area of more than 42,000 sqft. Registry sources say that if the objective of the Chief Justice, B. Subhashan Reddy, is given full shape, the academy will emerge as a nationally acclaimed research and development centre. This centre of excellence has a library built at a cost of Rs. 50 lakhs and a 500-seat meeting hall. Now, the State judiciary need not go to private premises to hold conferences and meetings, say sources.

The academy holds refresher courses for serving judicial officers, besides imparting training to new recruits. It holds lectures, meetings and courses throughout the year, with the participation of High Court and Supreme Court judges. The centre awaits formal inauguration, probably by the Chief Justice of India.

Library complex

Built on a plan outlay of Rs. 2.77 crores, this complex has more than 24,000-sqft floor space. Its front elevation resembles the original High Court entrance. The complex has three wings - a library, a conference hall and a dining hall. It will save a recurring expenditure on booking star hotels every time functions are organised, say officials.

Additional chambers

`Inaugurated' more than two years ago, a Rs. 11.5-crore complex for additional chambers has about 300 rooms, designed to accommodate nearly 1,200 practising advocates. The demand for accommodation for eligible lawyers exceeded the plan expectations even before the completion of the project. Yet, allotments have not begun for various reasons. First, the Public Works Department `forgot' to instal individual power meters. A tug of war over rent between advocates and the government is on, say sources. The allotment of chambers, they say, hinges on the inauguration of the Madurai bench. The Registry will ascertain the exact number of lawyers intending to migrate to Madurai, before beginning the allotment.

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