Amaravati: Chief Justice of India Nuthalapati Venkata Ramana on Saturday inaugurated the new modern City Courts Complex in Vijayawada built at a cost of about Rs 100 crore, over nine years after he, as the then judge of the (united) Andhra Pradesh High Court, laid the foundation stone. It was also a proud moment for Justice Ramana, just a week before his retirement, as it was in the same courts that he began his practice as a lawyer in 1983, under a senior advocate K Ravindra Rao, as a member of the Bezawada Bar Association.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, High Court Chief Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra, judges of the High Court, magistrates, members of the Bar Council and the Bezawada Bar Association attended the event. Bezawada Bar Association president Ch Vishnuvardhan welcomed the gathering.
“It was on May 11, 2013 that I laid the foundation stone for this multi-storied building. Its construction got delayed due to bifurcation of the state and also non-allocation of funds by governments and other reasons. I am happy that it has now taken shape and I am also fortunate to inaugurate it,” Justice Ramana said.
The G+7 structure has been completed after a five-year delay. Earlier, the High Court had pulled up the incumbent YSRCP government for not sanctioning funds for the completion of the project and non-payment of bills for the works done.
The CJI referred to this and said he requested the Prime Minister, Union Ministers and several Chief Ministers to provide required funds for judicial infrastructure projects. He particularly asked the Centre to extend financial assistance as many states were in financial crisis.
“Somehow, there was opposition from the Centre to my proposal for extra funds to states to build court complexes. I am thankful that Chief Ministers of Bengal, AP, Tamil Nadu and some other states supported our proposal,” Justice Ramana said. He pointed out that funds crunch has stalled the courts building in Visakhapatnam though it reached the final stages. He expressed hope that the Chief Minister would ensure funds for completion of this.
The new centrally-air conditioned Vijayawada courts complex spread over about 15,000 sq. m. will now house all courts, which so far have been functioning from different premises in the city, under one roof.
The complex has 29 spacious court halls, special chambers for sessions judges and magistrates, rooms for public prosecutors, waiting halls for the clients and other facilities. It will also have a bank, post office and canteen. The court halls have been equipped with facilities for conducting hearings in virtual mode as well. Justice Ramana, Justice Mishra and Jagan planted saplings on the complex premises on the occasion.
Earlier, the Chief Minister called on the Chief Justice of India at hotel Novotel upon the latter’s arrival from Hyderabad. Both were closeted in a meeting for about 20 minutes, which officials described as a “courtesy”. Telugu Desam president and Leader of Opposition N Chandrababu Naidu also conferred with Justice Ramana at the hotel. Chandrababu presented a memento to the CJI on the occasion. (PTI)
