Adjournments are enemy to justice delivery system: Madras High Court

Chennai: Holding that adjournments are enemies to the justice delivery system, the Madras High Court has directed the District and Sessions Court, Thiruvannamalai, to advance the date of hearing of the murder case of a social activist, in the first week of January.On that date, the process of serving the charge sheet shall be completed and thereafter, the trial should be commenced without causing any further delay.

The judge shall proceed with the trial and dispose of the case within six months, Justice S M Subramaniam has said.The judge, who gave the directions on a writ petition from Aleyamma Joseph last week, also made it clear unnecessary adjournments should not be granted and even in case of any request for adjournment, the reasons must be recorded.

The petition prayed for a direction to the State Home Secretary to appoint a Judicial Commission headed by a retired judge of the High Court to investigate the conspiracy leading to the murder of her husband Raj Mohan Chandra, a social activist, probe acts of various persons exposed by him and award a compensation of Rs 1 crore to her.

The judge noted that in this case adjournments were being granted for the last eight years and the charge sheet had not been served to the accused persons and the matter was last listed on December 7. Now it is again posted for further hearing on February 10. Such long adjournments are to be avoided in such nature of cases.

"Therefore this court is of the opinion that adjournments are to be granted only by recording reasons and the reasons must be genuine and in the absence of any valid reasons, no adjournments must be granted and the trial must go on," the judge said and gave the directions.