MADURAI: The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court issued notice to the state government on a petition seeking a direction to fill vacancies for various posts at the Circuit House of Tamil Nadu Consumer Redressal Commission in Madurai. The petitioner also sought for the existing judicial presiding officer to continue until the new members are appointed.
A division bench of Justices R Suresh Kumar and G Arul Murugan issued the direction while hearing a petition filed by A Haja Mohideen, a Madurai-based advocate. Haja submitted that the sanctioned strength for the Circuit House is five — a president, two judicial members and two non-judicial members (of which one must be a woman).
However, three members’ posts have been vacant for a year. The Madurai unit has been functioning since November 2012, covering 13 districts in the southern part of TN, with two judicial members and a non-judicial member.
Owing to the retirement and end of tenures of the members, the commission has been functioning with just one judicial member, S Karuppiah, she stated. As Karuppiah is set to retire on June 18, the unit will become defunct, and therefore, he must continue until new members are appointed, Haja added.
With cases piling up, and delays in disposing of the cases, the litigants are unable to get justice on time. Even as the situation remains dismal, the state government has not taken any steps to fill up the vacancies, Haja submitted.