Four new judges for Madurai Bench

MADURAI: The Chief Justice of Madras High Court Hemant Laxman Gokhale has deputed four of the fourteen Additional Judges, who were sworn in Chennai on Tuesday, to the Madurai Bench of the Court. The new judges R.S. Ramanathan, T. Raja, R. Mala and G.M. Akbar Ali will begin hearing cases in the Bench from Wednesday. Of them, Mr. Raja hails from Thenur near here. He graduated from the Madura College. There has been a shuffle in the allotment of portfolios following the arrival of new Judges. For the first time since its inception in July 2004, the Madurai Bench would witness the sitting of four Division Benches. While a Bench of Justices S.K. Krishnan and T. Raja would hear writ appeals, civil miscellaneous appeals, appeal suits, contempt petitions; Justices P. Murgesen and R. Mala shall hear criminal appeals filed by convicts languishing in jail. A Division Bench of Justices S. Manikumar and R.S. Ramanathan would decide habeas corpus petitions (HCPs) filed by those under preventive detention. Justices A. Selvam and G.M. Akbar Ali shall hear appeals filed by convicts enlarged on bail. The other judges shall sit single and decide writ petitions, bail, anticipatory bail and such other petitions. The arrangement shall be in force only until Friday. It might be changed from Monday, according to sources. The court authorities had done well to convert four large rooms in the administrative block into court halls to accommodate the new judges. The works were carried out with internal funds. The newly created court halls contain attached chambers for judges and their personal assistants. Utmost care had been taken to ensure that the facilities in newly created court halls matched with that of the existing halls. A proposal sent by the High Court to construct four court halls on the backyard of the existing buildings, along with four more bungalows for judges, was pending with the State Government since 2007. The new judges might have to face some problems in getting residential facilities. While two of them have been allotted bungalows, one would stay in VIP guest house and another in his own house as a temporary arrangement, an official said

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