BIJAPUR: Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court Cyriac Joseph has said that corruption in the judiciary would not be tolerated in any form, and all efforts would be made to eradicate this scourge.

Inaugurating the Civil Court (Senior Division) in Sindagi town, Mr. Cyriac Joseph said that measures had been initiated to identify and punish corrupt officials, and urged the people to help the High Court in this regard. Although the number of such officials was small, it was still affecting the credibility of whole judicial system, and this had to be corrected, he said.

He said there was a growing impression that poor people were not able to afford the costs of going to court to seek justice, and, therefore, judicial officers and lawyers had to ensure that that the poverty of complainants did not come in the way of their getting justice.

A.C. Kabbin, a judge, advised people to first try to settle their disputes through compromise settlements out of court, which, he said, would save valuable time and money of all concerned. Minister for Textiles Appasaheb Pattanashetti, who is Minister in charge of the district, echoed this view.

Leader of the Opposition in the State Legislative Council H.K. Patil said that the judicial system should be reformed in such a way that the people got justice without encountering hassles. He recalled the measures initiated during his tenure as Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs to make villages free of disputes.

Minister for Home Law and Parliamentary Affairs M.P. Prakash, who presided over the function, said more powers should be delegated to lower courts at the taluk-level so that people could easily get justice.

He stressed the need for suitable reforms in the judicial system that would address the changes that had taken place in the nature of civil disputes and criminal cases.

High Court judge B.S. Patil, District Principal and Sessions Judge Prakash Ballari, M.P. Nadagouda, MLC, MLAs Ravikant Patil and Ashok Shabadi, and Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Mohsin were present. Mr. Cyriac Joseph and a few dignitaries later also participated in a similar function in Indi town.

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