Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

New computers irk court staff

MADURAI: The Madras High Court Bench here is facing technical problems ever since the Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu (ELCOT) allotted 102 new Linux based personal computers four months ago.

Installing the new operating system without imparting basic training to the users has put the Judges, their personal assistants and other court staff in a tight spot as they are unable to issue order copies on time much to the dissatisfaction of the lawyers.

“Our staff members are used to Microsoft Windows. With the new systems, they often complain of documents not getting aligned properly, lack of inbuilt dictionary and inconsistencies in transmitting the judgements to the Current Section where the orders are printed,” said a court employee attached to the National Informatics Centre (NIC).

The dot matrix printers provided to the personal assistants as well as the line matrix printers in the Current Section are very slow. The line matrix printers are capable of printing only 500 lines per minute whereas the court requires high end printers that can print 1500 to 2000 lines per minute.

The Judges, their law clerks and personal assistants could not also access the Supreme Court Cases Online, a software that runs only on Windows XP or Vista, in the new systems.

The online software costs Rs.50,000 and it could be updated on daily, weekly or monthly basis through the Internet on an annual subscription of Rs.9,000. It is one of the vital softwares for the judges to know the recent apex court rulings.

The Registry has sent three communications to ELCOT on the issue on November 14, October 12 and October 26. The authorities have been asked to provide Windows-enabled PCs or upgrade Linux to meet the day to day requirements.

F.M. Ibrahim Kalifulla, seniormost Judge in the Bench, has directed the Registry to send yet another communication.

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