Karunanidhi seeks early approval for use of Tamil in High court
	CHENNAI:Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi on Sunday pleaded with the Centre and the Supreme Court to give an early approval to Tamil Nadu's proposal for introducing Tamil as the language of the High Court in the State. Mr. Karunanidhi, in a speech that was read out by Public Works Department Minister Durai Murugan at the meeting of Chief Ministers and Chief Justices in New Delhi, said the request represented the legitimate aspirations of the people and needed an urgent attention. The State Assembly had passed a unanimous resolution in this regard and the issue was pending the assent of the President, he pointed out. The State Government has decided to start 50 fast track courts for judicial magistrates in 2007-2008 in places where there is high pendency of cases, and was asking the Centre to allocate substantial funds in the current financial year for taking up a Rs.213-crore project to construct court buildings and quarters for judicial officers. As on December 31 last, 4,43,656 civil cases and 4,13,153 criminal cases in subordinate courts and 3,72,973 civil cases and 38,985 criminal cases were pending in the High Court. "This indicates that there is an urgent need to increase the number of courts to ensure a reasonable disposal time." The Madras High Court had sent the State Government a detailed proposal involving about Rs. 300 crore for construction of court buildings and quarters for judicial officers. It had also requested the Government to allocate funds to complete these works in three years, he said. Having earmarked Rs.125 crore in the State budget for 2007-2008 towards these projects, the Government also announced that the pending proposals would be completed in the next four years, Mr. Karunanidhi said. Perspective plan The State had already sent a perspective plan to the Centre in October last for the construction of court buildings at a cost of Rs.206.26 crore and construction of 18 quarters for judicial officers at a total cost of Rs.6.89 crore, he added. The Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority had been able to dispose of 3,41,228 cases in the last two years through its interventions at various levels, Mr. Karunanidhi said.