Treat HC judges on par with ministers, says Madras HC judge

The remarks came in response to him getting delayed to work due to certain traffic restrictions in the city

Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court on Friday urged the government authorities to treat the HC judges on par with ministers and observe the protocol they are entitled to, remarks that came in response to him getting delayed to work due to certain traffic restrictions in the city.

Irked over the action of the police in erecting barricades on the roads and stopping all the vehicles, including that of his, which resulted in he starting the court work late today, the judge rapped the police for not making any arrangement to let the judges go without any hindrance.

The police had made special arrangements, restricting the movement of vehicles in view of an event to mark the 94th birth anniversary of late thespian Sivaji Ganesan at his memorial near Adyar bridge in RA Puram, in which Chief Minister M K Stalin and other ministers participated.

The judge's vehicle was also stopped for about 30 minutes. He said this happened despite his PA informing the police authorities concerned in advance.

Following summons from the High Court, Home Secretary SK Prabakar appeared through video-conferencing and expressed regret to the court over the incident. He also told the judge steps would be taken to avoid recurrence of any such incident in the future.

Though he could initiate contempt proceedings on the ground that he was prevented from discharging his public duty, the judge said he was not doing so and chose to leave the matter at it.

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