People are losing faith in judiciary: Minister

Mangalore, September 1: The foundation stone laying ceremony of 'Vakeel Bhavana' was carried out near the court premises in Mangalore on Saturday.

C M Udasi, State PWD Minister, laid the foundation stone for the building.

Speaking at the formal programme, Mr. Udasi said that the state government has earmarked funds for judiciary infrastructure development worth Rs. 53 crore besides setting aside Rs. 26 crore for accommodation of judges. People are losing faith in judiciary, the Minister said, stressing on the need for the legal fraternity to serve people better. He also called upon junior advocates to learn from the experience of seniors and maintain good relations with them.

D V Sadananda Gowda, Former Chief Minister, said that the state government besides setting aside money under Appendix E, has also allocated funds in the state budget. Under the Law Department, works to the tune of Rs. 160 crore are in progress with respect to infrastructure development of courts across the state, Mr. Gowda said. The state government has also taken steps to develop judicial system such as formation of a Law Commission, sanction of grants to 19 law colleges, introduction of family courts, accumulation of all laws in a single CD etc, he said. An e-library for the Mangalore Bar Council will also be provided by the government in the future, he said.

N Yogish Bhat, Deputy Speaker, Legislative Assembly, said that the new court building will be inaugurated in another four months. Efforts to complete the construction work of the Vakeel Bhavana within a year will also be made, he assured.

Justice Dr. K Bhaktavasal, Karnataka High Court Judge, said that the Vakeel Bhavana will help young lawyers who otherwise struggle to find offices to operate from in their younger days. He also called upon the law fraternity to serve the people especially the downtrodden and womenfolk.

Nalin Kumar Kateel, MP, Justice K L Manjunath, Karnataka High Court Judge, K M Nataraj, Karnataka State Additional Advocate General, Ashok G Nijaganavar, DK District Chief Sessions Judge, Monappa Bhandary, MLC, and Dr. S P Chengappa, President, Mangalore Bar Council, were also present.

The building would be a five storey structure comprising of an auditorium, separate auditorium for women advocates, library, canteen, changing rooms and toilets for advocates in each floor, spacious car parking facility besides a ramp connecting the building to the court premises.