The over-century-old court at Sholinghur near Ranipet will shift to a new combined court complex on Tuesday, May 2.
The complex has been functioning from a cramped building near the Government Taluk Hospital. The court has been functioning since 1909. The new court complex at Padianallur, around two km from Sholinghur, on the Arakkonam-Sholingur Main Road, will start functioning with over 75 staff members and 80 advocates.
“The new complex is spacious, with basic amenities provided for litigants. Frequent bus services are also available from the town,” said court librarian G. Vijayakumar.
The complex has been built on over 2.2 acres, at a cost of ₹7.40 crore. It has spacious court halls, with separate chambers for judges, separate rooms for men and women advocates, a visitors’ hall, a records room, an office and toilets. Ramps have been provided for persons with disabilities. The housing quarters for two judges are also part of the complex, which has CCTV cameras. A proposal to set up a sub-court in the new court complex is under consideration.
Originally, the court complex was started with a District Munsif in June 1909 on a 1.2-acre plot near the government hospital at Sholinghur. The judicial magistrate court was started in 1999. Every day, on an average, more than 500 litigants from remote villages in the Sholinghur, Nemili and Arakkonam taluks in the district visit the court. The three taluks cover 45 villages, 124 villages and 133 villages respectively. At present, more than 1,500 cases are pending before the two courts.
