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Saturday, Jul 24, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Madurai

Advocates welcome Madurai Bench

By Our Staff Reporter

MADURAI, JULY 23 . Advocates in the southern districts have welcomed the establishment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court scheduled for inauguration tomorrow.

After 30 years of perusal at different levels by advocates and political parties, the Madurai Bench has finally taken shape and will be commissioned by the Chief Justice of India, R. C. Lahoti, at a grand function organised by the Madras High Court at Ulaganeri.

It is no doubt a long-fought battle for the Madurai Bar Association and its counterparts in the southern districts, who organised a series of agitations including a `bandh' on April 4, 1995, demanding establishment of the Madurai Bench as recommended by the Justice Jaswant Singh Commission.

"The Madurai Bench will be a permanent one with powers on a par with the principal seat (the Madras High Court).

The appeal provisions for judgements pronounced by the division bench here will be available only in the apex court. It is the duty of the Government to provide adequate manpower and funds for the smooth functioning of the Madurai Bench," said the Madurai Bar Association president, K. Vellaichamy.

Legal luminaries are unequivocally of the view that the purpose of establishing the Madurai Bench will be complete only when the writ jurisdiction is extended.

"It is the obligation of the Madras High Court to provide writ powers to the Madurai Bench in order to enable the people to avail themselves of all privileges available in a High Court," he said.

After the foundation stone was laid on April 13, 2000 by the then Chief Justice of India, Justice A.S. Anand, the construction of the majestic buildings came up briskly though there were fund constraints at some stages.

The former Chief Minister, M. Karunanidhi, and the present Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, contributed significantly for bringing the Madurai Bench into being.

The Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry president, S. Rethinavelu, said the Madurai Bench would enhance the floating population in the Temple City thereby boosting its economy.

The business, particularly of hotels and transport sectors, would flourish. The patronage of the air and train services would also improve substantially. Steps should be taken to establish a Supreme Court Bench at Chennai, he added.

The Madurai High Court Advocates' Association urged the Madras High Court to extend writ jurisdiction to the Madurai Bench since it was an effective tool to safeguard the fundamental rights of the people.

In a statement, its secretary, K.P. Thiyagarajan, said Benches of tribunals, particularly the Central and State administrative tribunals, should also be established in Madurai.

The Indian Association of Lawyers (Tamil Nadu Chapter) secretary, K. Samidurai, said the Madurai Bench would facilitate speedy justice to the litigant public.

He thanked the judicial fraternity, political parties and the media for their continued support in establishing the Madurai Bench.

In a statement, the Lawyers for Human Rights secretary, T. Lajpathi Roy, and the joint secretary, R. Gandhi, said the litigants in this part of the State were legally empowered by the constitution of the Madurai Bench.

Security beefed up

Tight security arrangements have been made in view of the High Court Bench inauguration tomorrow. Hundreds of police personnel have been deployed on bandobust duty at Ulaganeri and the VIP route on the Madurai-Tiruchi National Highway.

"Traffic diversions will be made after a couple of hours ahead of the function. Plainclothesmen will be posted at vulnerable points to keep a watch on the movement of suspicious persons/vehicles," the Commissioner of Police, Vijay Kumar, said.

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