CHENNAI: The Bar Federation of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry and the Tamil Nadu Advocates’ Association has welcomed the initiative taken by Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay, in requesting appropriate action to establish a regional bench of the Supreme Court at Chennai.“In his letter addressed to the prime minister Narendra Modi, our CM has reiterated the long-standing request of the members of the Bar and the litigant public for the constitution of a regional bench of the Supreme Court at Chennai, to serve the southern part of our country,” the associations said.The constitution of a regional bench has been discussed and proposed on several occasions in the past but has not been materialised for various reasons.Although the request was not considered on earlier occasions, changes in the contemporary society warrants the establishment of a regional bench of the SC to ensure that the administration of justice reaches every nook and corner of this country, they added.“The structural bias and strict financial constraints in accessing the apex judicial institution, leads to a situation where litigant public from the Southern states are imposed with a punishment, which is widely known as ‘Distance Penalty’,” they said.The associations further stated, “The long-standing request of the members of the Bar is now being rightly raised and voiced out by our CM. As clearly pointed out, Article 130 of the Constitution permits the SC to function from other places, as recommended by the CJI with the approval of the President.”“As rightly said in the representation addressed by our CM, the establishment of a regional bench in Chennai will reflect the true federal character of our nation and such an establishment will develop the independent character of our judiciary and the same will pave way for a better administration of justice,” they added.“Therefore, on behalf of the members of the legal fraternity we thank our CM for taking initiatives in constituting regional bench at Chennai and we request the CJI and the PM to consider the request and take necessary measures for establishing a regional bench of the SC at Chennai,” the associations noted.
