Call for speedy disposal of cases

Karimnagar: The Andhra Pradesh High Court Judge R Subhash Reddy said on Saturday that judges and advocates should take steps for speedy disposal of cases and that judgments should be delivered in such a way that they should satisfy both parties. Addressing a gathering of legal fraternity after laying foundation stones for the construction of a new civil court building at an estimated cost of Rs 40 lakh and for the Kasuganti Lakshmi Narasimha Rao Memorial Library at a cost of Rs 35 lakh at Jagtial, Subhashan Reddy said that it would be better if an out-of-court settlement could be reached between the petitioners, or a judgment delivered, satisfying both the parties. Subhash Reddy bemoaned the fact that in the developed countries, 4% of government funds were allocated to the judiciary in annual budgets, whereas in India, the allocation was less than 1%. He said that for the speedy disposal of pending cases, every advocate should take initiative and try to resolve at least five cases by making the petitioners arrive at an understanding. He said that they would submit a proposal to the Supreme Court, seeking permission for those who completed 3 years of service to appear for the written examination for the recruitment of judicial officers. Justice Chandra Kumar said that judgements should be delivered in a fair manner to make the petitioners happy. They should be based on the principles of dharma, he stressed. He said that judges should be careful while delivering judgements, as they would completely change the lives of the people. Also care should be taken to ensure that no innocent man was punished. A Member of the Andhra Pradesh Bar Council, Kasuganti Lakshman Kumar, demanded an increase in the number of courts in the State. He said that although there were 82,000 lawyers in Andhra Pradesh, the courts were less in proportion to the lawyers. He said that the High Court should pass a resolution, stating that the advocates who completed three years of service should be made eligible to sit for the judicial officers' recruitment examination. It should also send it to the Supreme Court for its ratification. District Judge V Jayasurya, Second Additional magistrate S Madhava Rao, Principal Junior Civil Judge Sheetal, Bar Association President R Sriramulu and others were present on the occasion.