Justice Chandru cleared 65,000 cases in 5 yrs

Amid all those complaints that justice is getting unduly delayed and cases are piling up in courts across the country, a judge in the Madras high court is obsessed with speed.

Justice K. Chandru is widely known in the legal circles as the commoner’s messiah, who walks an extra mile hearing cases well beyond the court hours to hasten disposal.

Five years in the life of a judge is not a long time but then, Justice Chandru’s score card makes one wonder whether he has been around for a much longer time as he has disposed off 65,000 cases since being elevated from the bar five years ago.

“There were days when the judge would himself pick up the big books of pending cases from the court staff room and spend late evenings hearing the petitioners. Clearing old cases in shortest possible time is his USP”, said a senior lawyer.

Requested for his views on speedy justice for the ordinary litigant, Justice Chandru recounted some interesting and heart-rending courtroom episodes.

“I observed many parents and children coming to the court with tears. I decided children need not be brought to the court for every hearing. And I made sure that parents received their judgment copies immediately”, said the benevolent judge, who often quoted Kahlil Gibran and old movie songs that carried social messages to embellish judicial observations.

Asked if the courts are child-friendly, Justice Chandru replied, “Our courts are not even litigant-friendly; they lack basic amenities”.

The judge had set a record of sorts clearing 380 cases on a single day, on June 7 this year. And he banned addressing him as Your Lordship and My Lord in the court. Also, he is among the few judges in the country who declared assets.

Recollecting the 2009 case of woman priest Pinniyakkal, who was prevented from conducting pooja to the local deity in Madurai because of her gender, Justice Chandru said, “Pinniyakkal was confident and was ready to fight for her rights. After my judgement, the government provided her security for carrying out poojas as per her wish”.