CJI inaugurates celebrations marking completion of 20 years of Madurai Bench of Madras HC

Madurai (Tamil Nadu), Jul 20 (PTI) Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud on Saturday inaugurated the vigentennial celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court and hailed the contribution of the bench in serving as repository of data and software backup for the Delhi High Court.

Lauding the Bench for its latest “remarkable feat”, the CJI said the Delhi High Court had set up a Disaster Recovery Centre at Madurai Bench this year to ensure regular backup of its data and softwares.

“So, Delhi has to look towards Tamil Nadu for a solution if it faces problems,” Justice Chandrachud said in a lighter vein.

The CJI unveiled the Vigentennial Stupa at the Madurai Bench through a video conference. The celebrations at the Madurai Convention Centre, Tamukkam grounds, here, was attended among others by Supreme Court judges: Justice B R Gavai, Justice Surya Kant, Justice M M Sundresh, Justice K V Viswanathan, Justice R Mahadevan.

Madras High Court Acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justices R Suresh Kumar, S S Sundar, and R Subramanian besides Advocate General of Tamil Nadu P S Raman, and Additional Solicitor General of India A R L Sunderesan also participated.

Justice Sundresh unveiled a new name board for the Madurai Bench.

Addressing the gathering, the CJI said establishing the bench of the high court was not just about setting up infrastructure or creating courtrooms or furnishing those courtrooms.

“They are essential appendages to judicial work. The crucial part is about setting up conventions, about setting up traditions, which will ensure for the future,” he said.

“In the last 20 years, the Madurai Bench has made that transition into truly being a representative of the great traditions of the Madras High Court,|” the CJI added.

On the issue of entry-level juniors getting paid a “meagre” salary, Chandrachud said “please shed away the paternalistic approach that they have come to learn and get exposure and experience, and that you are mentoring them.”

Pointing out that there was much to learn from the junior lawyers, he said paying lower amounts such as Rs 5,000 per month to the juniors led to “gatekeeping” of the profession.