The Hindu : Front Page : Court reeling under space crunch

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 14, 2007
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Court reeling under space crunch

Mohamed Imranullah S.

MADURAI: It has not even completed three years since its inauguration on July 24, 2004. But the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court is already reeling under a space crunch what with the 12 court halls and an equal number of Judges' bungalows falling short of the requirement.

According to the court officials, the Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah has consented to a proposal sent by them to construct four additional court halls and three bungalows.

The issue has been discussed with Public Works Department officials and soon a detailed estimate would be forwarded to the State Government.

The new court halls would come up near the Judges' entrance, behind the main entrance to the court premises. They would be annexed to the existing building akin to the pattern followed in the principal seat of the High Court in Chennai.

Out of the three new bungalows, one would be exclusively earmarked for the Chief Justice.

The proposed court buildings would be equipped with all existing facilities such as air conditioning, wall panelling, false ceiling and public address system. Attached chambers for the Judges, steno rooms and visitors halls would also be provided.

The officials said that they would not compromise on the furnishings to maintain the characteristic of the Bench, which was originally constructed based on the model of the Supreme Court of India.

As of now, the Bench comprises of a four-storied administrative building with a plinth area of 22, 929 square metre and a two-storied court building with a plinth area of 15,09 square metre.

Attached together, these buildings have a varied ceiling height of 3.6 metres ad 7.2 metres respectively.

There were four bigger court halls and eight smaller ones.

The court officials began to feel the pinch ever since more number of Judges was allotted to the Bench in the past few months.

Comprehending the difficulties, Mr. Shah permitted other Judges to occupy the court hall No.1 that was usually reserved for the Chief Justice. Besides, a meeting hall in the administrative building was converted into a court hall and a room nearby into a chamber for the Judges. There were also times, when one of the Judges had to stay in the Registrar's residence with the latter shifting to the resident doctor's bungalow, which mostly remained vacant.

The proposal for new buildings has been initiated to avoid such exigencies in the future.

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