Two judges at Madurai Bench of Madras HC clear over 2,000 cases in 20 days: Report

Two judges at the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently disposed of over 2,000 cases within 20 days. As per the High Court Registry, a Division Bench of Justices R Mahadevan and Sathya Narayana Prasad disposed of 2,085 cases in 20 days beginning September 5 this year, a Bar and Bench report said.

The Madurai Bench passed orders on around 700 writ petitions, around 1,100 miscellaneous cases, and several Public Interest Litigation (PILs) that had been pending for several years.

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Justice Mahadevan had taken over as administrative judge of the Madurai Bench of the High Court on September 3 this year.

350 cases listed per day

Senior Advocate K Samidurai, who practices before the Madurai Bench, said that following this development, the judges began listing an average of 350 cases each day and passing orders, disposing of all old cases.

“The Bench gave priority to PILs, environmental cases, and old cases that had been pending for several years. It used to sit from 10:30 am to 4:45 pm every day without taking any breaks. The Bench also allowed mentioning by junior as well as senior counsels and if someone came and said their case had been pending for many years, the Bench would list it within a week. This is a first because, normally benches do not permit mentioning unless it is a very urgent matter,” he told Bar and Bench.

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Influx of new PILs

Other lawyers practicing before the Madurai Bench also said that after Justice Mahadevan’s Bench began disposing of old cases, the court saw an influx of new PILs, especially those raising environmental concerns, protection of wildlife etc, hoping for positive orders, the report said.