‘How fair is it to spend Rs. 30 lakh for biryani feast?’
CHENNAI, AUGUST 01, 2019 00:00 IST
Judges appalled to hear about advocates’ association library lying in a dilapidated condition
The Madras High Court on Tuesday expressed dismay over Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) having spent around Rs. 30 lakh for a biryani feast during its recently held Annual Day celebrations without bothering to spend the association money fruitfully for the betterment of its historic library, lying in ruin.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and R. Pongiappan were taken aback to read a report submitted by a committee comprising senior counsel A.E. Chelliah, M.K. Kabir, V. Selvaraj and Sudha Ramalingam on the poor shape in which the association premises as well as its library had been maintained over the years.
The committee, after inspecting the association premises and the library on July 25, said, it was appalled to find the entire place in disarray and unclean. “All law reference books as well as reports in the library were moth eaten and ruined. Book shelves were infested with rodents and we were informed that there is possibility of even snakes being present,” it said.
The court was further told that ancient reference books belonging to the Queen’s Bench and King’s Bench were uncared for and dusty, the committee said.
“This committee is of the view that emergent steps under the supervision of the Heritage Committee as well as Building Committee (both constituted by Chief Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani and comprising of High Court judges) of the High Court should be taken to repair the roof/ceiling, clean the entire premises and undertake pest control measures,” the report read.
The committee went on to warn that failure to act fast could lead to the roof of the heritage building collapsing any time. The report was filed on the basis of a direction issued by the Bench during the hearing of a writ petition filed by advocate K. Sathyabal accusing the office-bearers of the association of having indulged in various irregularities. After perusing the committee’s report, the judges directed the association to file the income and expenditure statement for the last five years after it was orally reported that though the association’s revenue was around Rs. 2 crore every year, the expenditure was nearly Rs. 1.5 crore and that it was left with a bank balance of just Rs. 2 crore.
CHENNAI, AUGUST 01, 2019 00:00 IST
Judges appalled to hear about advocates’ association library lying in a dilapidated condition
The Madras High Court on Tuesday expressed dismay over Madras High Court Advocates Association (MHAA) having spent around Rs. 30 lakh for a biryani feast during its recently held Annual Day celebrations without bothering to spend the association money fruitfully for the betterment of its historic library, lying in ruin.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and R. Pongiappan were taken aback to read a report submitted by a committee comprising senior counsel A.E. Chelliah, M.K. Kabir, V. Selvaraj and Sudha Ramalingam on the poor shape in which the association premises as well as its library had been maintained over the years.
The committee, after inspecting the association premises and the library on July 25, said, it was appalled to find the entire place in disarray and unclean. “All law reference books as well as reports in the library were moth eaten and ruined. Book shelves were infested with rodents and we were informed that there is possibility of even snakes being present,” it said.
The court was further told that ancient reference books belonging to the Queen’s Bench and King’s Bench were uncared for and dusty, the committee said.
“This committee is of the view that emergent steps under the supervision of the Heritage Committee as well as Building Committee (both constituted by Chief Justice Vijaya Kamlesh Tahilramani and comprising of High Court judges) of the High Court should be taken to repair the roof/ceiling, clean the entire premises and undertake pest control measures,” the report read.
The committee went on to warn that failure to act fast could lead to the roof of the heritage building collapsing any time. The report was filed on the basis of a direction issued by the Bench during the hearing of a writ petition filed by advocate K. Sathyabal accusing the office-bearers of the association of having indulged in various irregularities. After perusing the committee’s report, the judges directed the association to file the income and expenditure statement for the last five years after it was orally reported that though the association’s revenue was around Rs. 2 crore every year, the expenditure was nearly Rs. 1.5 crore and that it was left with a bank balance of just Rs. 2 crore.
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