Madras High Court Chief Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi inaugurated the combined Court building & Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) Centre in Tirupur via videoconferencing at an event held on Saturday.

The 3-storeyed building was constructed at a cost of Rs 37.74 crore. There are 8 Courts on the ground floor & 9 on the first floor, while the 2nd floor is allocated for trainee Judges.

The inaugural ceremony was attended by animal husbandry minister Udumalai K Radhakrishnan & HC Justices S Vaidyanathan & D Krishnakumar, among others.

In his address, Sahi suggested the subordinate courts to offer e-library services. “I believe that books & libraries are a source of knowledge & libraries have to be well-equipped. Instead of just purchasing more journals, I recommend subordinate courts to set up e-libraries. I hope the government can provide funds for the same.”

He said the HC had requested the State Govt to increase the budget allocation for libraries to Rs 1.5 crore this year from the existing Rs 1 crore. If the government accepts the request, Sahi said libraries in subordinate courts too could be turned into well-equipped ones. “E-libraries would also held address the issue of space constraints.”

High court justice Vineet Kothari, who is also the executive chairman of Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority, meanwhile, underlined the importance of the alternate dispute resolution centres. He said the one that was inaugurated in Tirupur was the 31st ADR centre in the state. “They are an essential part of the judicial system to take some load off the courts & could be used by litigants in civil cases, victims & offenders in criminal cases, & corporate & other entities in commercial cases. It provides amicable solutions without stress, strain & pinching the pocket.”

He said they had disposed of 10,131 pre-litigation cases & 88,548 pending cases across the state through lok adalat as on Dec 12, despite the pandemic situation.

Madras HC Judge & portfolio judge for Tirupur district G R Swaminathan also stressed on the importance of libraries in courts. He said libraries should not only contain court files & legal books, but also general books on topics like philosophy, politics & history. “And they should be accessible to lawyers & judicial officers,” he said.

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