Steno on leave; Judge types orders, posts ‘pain’ online
In a strange turn of events, a senior judge, aggrieved over the shortage of clerical staff in the district court complex, openly expressed his difficulty in issuing court orders due to the absence of the steno and also complained of severe pain in his shoulder.
According to sources, district judge J Chandran, who prefers to be transparent in court procedures and has openly declared that the order will not be typed, said he will pronounce it on the next hearing.
On Thursday, advocates noticed something unusual in the court’s official website. The judge had uploaded a statement on the steno’s long leave and also mentioned a line about the pain in his shoulder. Initially the other advocates thought it to be an error or typo, but other senior court officials clarified that the statement was typed by the senior judge who was suffering severe shoulder pain after typing back-to-back orders for several days.
Sources from the court said after the formation of the new Chengalpattu district, all departments were separated except the court complex. Many postings are still vacant and the workload has become high. A senior official said, “The steno’s role in court work is of paramount importance. Even if the steno is on leave for one day, an additional person would be appointed as replacement. But in the Kancheepuram sessions court, the steno has been on long leave without a replacement. Every day there are several orders and the judges can’t be expected to type all of those. He said all judges are facing this problem but Justice Chandran brought it to public view.
“Justice Chandran is a senior judge and he came in the limelight as the identification of Ramkumar in the infamous Nungambakkam Swathi murder case was done before him,” recalled the official. Another official said the district court manager’s PA should have appointed an additional person while the steno is on leave. “Even after a request from the judge, the issue was not attended to,” the official said, welcoming the expose by the senior judge.