HC seeks report on unnumbered cases in Poonamallee court

When the first bench comprising Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M Sundar commenced their sitting on Thursday, advocate S Packiaraj part of the Poonamallee court, made a mention saying that it has been weeks since he had moved a plea and that it was yet to be numbered and that over 400 such petitions were facing a similar fate. 

He also submitted that such an unhealthy practice was being adopted mainly for the sake of records in a bid to show limited pendency. 

Following the mention, the Chief Justice immediately directed the Registrar present there to ascertain the complaint and submit a report immediately. 

Packiaraj told reporters that the process of failing to number cases for weeks in a stretch resulting in them not being taken up for hearing is a case of denying justice. Despite several pleas, the process remains the same badly affecting the litigants, he said. He also noted that a similar situation prevailed in all the courts in Thiruvallur District judiciary and that it was being done for the sake of scaling down the pendency rate.

It may be noted that as many as 10.99 lakh cases are pending at the Subordinate courts in Tamil Nadu.

However, it is hoped that the e-court process would enable doing with such anomalies of failing to number the cases for hearing.