A new District Munsif and Judicial Magistrate Court at Chennangkuppam village in K.V. Kuppam near Katpadi in Vellore was opened on Friday, bringing relief to hundreds of litigants in surrounding villages, who have to travel to Katpadi, around 30 km away, to file petitions.

Justice K. Murali Shankar and Justice G. Jayachandran, Judges, Madras High Court, inaugurated the new court in the presence of Collector V.R. Subbulaxmi, SP N.U. Sivaraman and M. Elavarasan, Principal District and Sessions Judge, Vellore. “The new court will end our ordeal of travelling long distances to file cases and know the status of existing petitions. Additional basic amenities should be created at the new court,” said V. Parasivam, a litigant. 

Officials of the Public Works Department (PWD), which completed the work, said that the new court will function in the refurbished panchayat office premises in the village. Apart from the panchayat building, which was earlier functioning as an Anganwadi centre, four unused classrooms in the premises have been converted into administrative blocks of the new court. “The erstwhile panchayat building will function as the court main hall and the Judge’s chamber. Civic amenities have been provided for court staff and litigants. The entire work was completed at a cost of ₹8.90 lakh,” S. Thilagarani, Assistant Engineer (AE), PWD (Pernambut), told The Hindu.

The new court has a separate record room, advocates chamber, office room, water taps, washrooms, LED lights and compound wall. It also has an overhead tank with a capacity of 50,000 litres. CCTV cameras have also been installed for better surveillance. Ramps have been provided for persons with disabilities.

Court officials said that prior to the new premises, the court was functioning at a combined court complex in Katpadi for more than two decades. Litigants, including senior citizens and women, in the surrounding villages travel to Katpadi to hear cases and file petitions.

Every day, on an average, more than 300 litigants from remote villages in K.V. Kuppam and surrounding villages visit the court in Katpadi. At present, more than 1,500 cases are pending before these courts.

Court officials said that the new court has not only ended a prolonged travel time for litigants but also provides for a faster hearing of pending cases due to availability of necessary infrastructure, staff, and advocates.