The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Madurai Bench a boon, but lawyers must equip themselves

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 29, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Madurai Bench a boon, but lawyers must equip themselves

By Mohamed Imranullah

MADURAI, SEPT. 28. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, inaugurated amidst a controversy, is now more than two months old. It has been a boon to the litigant public as well as the legal fraternity in south Tamil Nadu. But a lot needs to be done to ensure that it serves the objectives for which it was established, despite stiff opposition from many quarters.

Now that the Bench is a reality, the time has come for the legal fraternity here to reach the standards set for a High Court.

From the beginning, the judges have taken a personal interest in teaching advocates the procedures and even laws. If one watches the proceedings from the visitor's gallery, one will see that the court is almost a classroom. The judges spend more time explaining to counsel the records they are supposed to file, the procedures to be followed before moving the Bench, etc. They persuade the advocates to use a mixture of English with Tamil. There have been instances of the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary being mentioned as respondents in a case; of seeking a direction to a tahsildar to issue a community certificate and an inspector of police not being impleaded in a case of refusal to register a complaint.

The problem, according to advocates here, is that all along the litigant public engaged Chennai-based senior lawyers to argue the cases in the Madras High Court.

A senior advocate, who has taken up cases in the Madras High Court, says the legal fraternity in the southern districts needs an orientation to equip itself. "The bar councils in the southern districts should take the initiative," he says.

"What are you appointed for by the Government? You are supposed to help the court in knowing the true facts. But you are not doing that, even after adjourning the case so many times, you are unable to present the facts... " - This is what a judge told a government advocate while hearing a criminal petition.

There is also the problem of many government advocates seeking repeated adjournments.

Poor infrastructure

Some of the lawyers, when approached, focus on the lack of infrastructure. "A few spacious chambers have been built, but they have not yet been allotted to us. It is very difficult to work here. We have neither a chamber to sit and peruse the records nor DTP and photocopying facilities to prepare affidavits. When we spend most of our time running around nearby villages to get the case bundles ready, where on earth will we get time to effectively represent our case," asks a lawyer.

Though the sanctioned staff strength for the Bench was more than 500, only 240 employees have been transferred. Non-availability of computers is also a setback, making it difficult for section officers and personal assistants to work on age-old typewriters, and they end up working over time.

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