Chief Justice R Bhanumathi on Saturday asked the Principal District Judges (PDJs) to inspect all the jails of the State every month and submit a report to the High Court regarding number of inmates, capacity, quality of food, cleanliness, social activities etc. “If a PDJ is not in a position to inspect the jail himself, he may direct the Chief Judicial Magistrate to inspect the jail and submit the report accordingly,” she made it clear.
Expressing concern over the condition of Hazat, the Chief Justice asked the PDJs to ensure that the female and male sections are separated with adequate drinking water and toilet facilities.
She was addressing a function held by the State Judicial Academy to know the problems and give tips to the senior judicial officers on how to run the judicial administration effectively. Around 107 Principal District Judges and District Judges participated in the programme, held at Jharkhand High Court premises.
The Chief Justice, on the occasion, released two books — Effective District Courts Administration and Handbook for High Court Staff — on practice, procedure duties and responsibilities.
She also asked the PDJs to decrease their dependence on stenographers to write judgments. “All the judicial officers have been provided laptops and laser printers to enable them to prepare judgments on their own,” she pointed out.
Issuing a comprehensive guideline for the district judiciary, she said that the PDJs should honestly review the functioning of the officers every month on their own instead of delegating the responsibility to their staff.
She said that she has noticed the growing burden on the few courts, while few others are not having sufficient work. “So, they should hold periodical meetings every three months and take stock of the pending cases of each court and ensure equal distribution,” she pointed out.
The CJ also told them that for effective administration of justice, they should work in coordination and not in confrontation with the other wings of governance at the district.
Interestingly, the Chief Justice also wanted the PDJs and others officers to ensure cleanliness in and around the court premises, maintenance of furniture, computers and the books supplied to the library are to be neatly bound.
She also wanted them to pay the electricity bills, municipal tax and other statutory financial liabilities regularly. She told them to install electricity meters within a fortnight if it is not there in the court premises of residential quarters.
During the interactive session, many district judges also raised problems of shortage of manpower, lack of infrastructure being faced by them. “In Chaibasa, around 400 persons are in jail for alleged committee subversive activities. But the sanction to prosecute them is pending at various levels,” a judicial officer pointed out.