Justice gets choked as there’s no air in Karnataka high court basement

The premises on which the wheels of justice in the state rest are suffocating. Vouchsafing this on Monday was none  else than chief justice of the Karnataka high court, JS Khehar, who paid a surprise inspection visit to the high court offices and expressed his shock over the lack of ventilation in a few offices in the basement.

Chief justice Khehar, accompanied by the registrars of judiciary and vigilance, visited all the sections in the basement, first and the second floors of the high court. He checked the attendance registers and basic amenities on the premises.

Since the high court is closed for winter vacation from December 20 to 31,  the court staff function from 10.30 am to 2 pm on these days as there is no sitting of the vacation bench. On the days when the vacation bench sits, the staff work from 10.30 am to 5 pm.

At 1.55 pm, the chief justice straightaway walked into the basement and moved into criminal branches located there. He was appalled by the lack of ventilation in the section. He later visited the first, second and third floors.

He also went through the attendance books. What was heartening was that there was no absence from work. Every staffer on duty was present, when the chief justice arrived for the inspection.
This is the second time in a fortnight that chief justice Khehar is paying a visit to the court offices.

On December 4, he had visited lower courts spread across the city. A delegation of the Advocates Association of Bangalore office-bearers had called on him and urged him to move the family courts on Siddaiah Road to the civil court premises. The chief justice had declined to accede to the advocates’ demands.

The chief justice had expressed his shock and displeasure over the lack of infrastructure and maintenance of various courts in the city, especially the courts housed in Mayo Hall.

Last week, the chief justice had met a delegation of senior advocates and sought their help in expediting disposal of cases.

Earlier, some advocates had expressed their dissatisfaction over the tardy functioning of courts under the Karnataka high court. Proceedings were often delayed, and only began past the scheduled time of 10.30 am; advocates were also concerned that proceedings were allowed to continue past the scheduled closing time of 4.45 pm.

The Advocates’ Association of Bangalore had a meeting with the chief justice to discuss these matters, and the chief justice had in turn requested them to cooperate to ensure smooth functioning of courts.