Karnataka   

Gauribidanur litigants look to Chickballapur for justice

CHICKBALLAPUR: If one goes by the adage “justice delayed is justice denied,” justice seems to be a far cry for hundreds of people whose petitions are pending before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Gauribidanur in Chickballapur district.

For nearly two years, the JMFC court in Gauribidanur, the only court in the taluk, is not functioning as a Magistrate has not been posted to the court after the previous judge Puttaranga Swamy was transferred. The Magistrate of the JMFC court in Chickballapur has been given additional charge of the Gauribidanur court since then, official sources told The Hindu.

As all the cases that were pending in the Gauribidanur court are now being tried in the Chickballapur court, petitioners and other parties involved in the cases as well as lawyers are forced to travel to Chickballapur frequently.

According to M. Lakshminarayana, a lawyer from Gauribidanur, the Magistrate at the JMFC Court in Chickballapur normally allots one hour every afternoon for the Gauribidanur court cases.

As one hour is too small a duration — given the large number of pending cases and the new cases that come up — trial, evidence and arguments are not taking place in almost all the cases.

The court is only giving dates in most of the cases and, taking up trial or evidence only in serious criminal cases, he said.

Some of the petitioners told The Hindu that they have to spend at least Rs. 100 every time they come to Chickballapur to attend court work. “There has been no progress in my case, relating to a property dispute, for over one year. I have been given dates on several occasions in the past one-and-a-half year. Some times I have to pay the bus fare of my lawyer also,” said Ramanjinappa, a marginal farmer from Thondebavi village.

Lawyers said that two years ago the Gauribidanur Bar Association complained to the High Court seeking the transfer of the then Magistrate alleging that he was misbehaving with lawyers. Subsequently, the Magistrate was transferred and no one was posted in his place.

Official sources said that severe groupism among Gauribidanur lawyers and the inordinate delay in renovating the court building had also contributed to the delay in posting a Magistrate.

Some lawyers have established Rural Advocates’ Forum as a parallel organisation to the Bar Association and this has led to animosity among lawyers.

The previous judge was accused of giving importance to the Rural Advocates’ Forum by ignoring the Bar Association.

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