Prayagraj, 02 April: The Registrar General of Allahabad High Court has sought a report of the opinion and feedback of all the concerned people, especially the lawyers, before implementing the plan of the Central Government to set up evening courts.
The Registrar General has written a letter to all the District and Sessions Judges and Special Executive Officers and asked them to send the report.
In the letter issued by the Registrar General, all the Bar Associations of the District Courts of the state have been sent letters and asked to take feedback from them regarding running evening courts.
The purpose of running the proposed evening courts is to settle small cases with the help of retired judges and staff at low cost with the current facilities. In this, small criminal cases, summary trials and cheque dishonour cases will be heard. The courts will run for four hours from 5 pm to 9 pm. After receiving positive suggestions, the plan of the Central Government to run evening courts can be implemented.
Center for Constitutional and Social Reforms National President and Advocate A N Tripathi has termed this plan as impractical and said that the plan will prove to be an obligation to judges after retirement and will spread disappointment among unemployed youth. There is a lot of doubt whether the plan will be able to achieve its target.
Tripathi said that judiciary is a strong pillar of democracy. It has the responsibility to resolve mutual disputes and legal issues. It has the responsibility to punish the criminal and acquit the innocent. This is a gimmick of the system which has failed to run the current system properly. The plan will remain just a formality of providing justice.
No attention has been paid to the lawyers practising in these courts. No attention has been paid to what the lawyers will be capable of after working from 9 am to 10 pm.
He said that adopting the method of trial and error in the court is not in the interest of justice. This interest of the litigant is against the principle of the highest. Judges are not appointed in district courts on time. Hundreds of posts remain vacant for years. There is no justification for taking the services of retired judges and not giving young lawyers the opportunity to become judges.
