The British era court inside the spacious Combined Court Complex in Cheyyar town in Tiruvannamalai was restored to function as a sub-court.
Accompanied by Collector D. Bhaskara Pandian, District Judge P. Mathusuthanan inaugurated the renovated heritage court building on Friday. “It was the earliest court in the North Arcot region, covering most of the districts in northern Tamil Nadu during British times. Since then, new courts were formed in the same premises,” said T.P. Saravanan, president, Cheyyar Bar Association.
Originally formed as a sub-divisional court in 1914 on a four-acre mango grove, the court was functioning from a Madras roofed small building for many years before Judicial Magistrate court was started in 1951. Two decades later, an additional munsif court was added to the cramped building. Formation of the sub-court in 1999 was the last major court to come up in the heritage structure.
All courts that handle civil and criminal cases were functioning in the small building until 2015, when the Combined Court Complex building was built nearby. Since then, the British era buildinghas not been in use. Three years ago, a proposal to restore the building was sent to the Madras High Court, which duly accepted it, considering its heritage value. A sum of Rs 10 crore was allotted for its restoration that was done by the Public Works Department.
Every day, around 150 - 200 litigants, mostly from Cheyyar and Vembakkam taluks, visit the court. Around 90 advocates are working as regular practitioners. On an average, over 150 cases come up at the court every day. Currently, 1,500 - 2,000 cases are pending before the court for many years.
