MADURAI: Chief Justice of the Madras High Court Munishwar Nath Bhandari urged for early disposal of civil cases while speaking at the farewell ceremony organized for him by bar associations in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Monday.
"While the number of pending cases on the criminal side is negligible in the Madurai Bench, pendency on the civil side is yet to be redressed," said Chief Justice Bhandari, who is attaining superannuation on September 12. He still appreciated both the Madras HC and the Madurai Bench for ranking first in the country in terms of overall disposal rate.
Recalling Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice UU Lalit's advice on early disposal of cases, Chief Justice Bhandari opined that the same could be achieved only through the cooperation of the bar. He also asked the administrative judge of the Madurai Bench, Justice PN Prakash, and other companion judges who attended the ceremony, to take steps to establish a conference hall in the Madurai Bench, similar to the one present in the Principal Seat, to conduct official functions, saying he was unable to do the same during his short stint in the Madras HC.
President of MMBA S Srinivasa Raghavan, MBHAA President KS Duraipandian, Women Advocate Association President J Anandhavalli, MAHAA President KP Thiagarajan, MBA President (in-charge) MK Suresh were also present in the event. The advocates and office bearers of the bar associations praised Chief Justice Bhandari as a 'friendly judge'.
Chief Justice Bhandari was first appointed as a judge in Rajasthan High Court in July 2007 and later served in Allahabad High Court in March 2019. He was transferred to the Madras High Court in November last year. After functioning as an Acting Chief Justice in Madras HC from November 22, 2021, to February 13, 2022, he assumed charge as the Chief Justice on February 14, 2022.