Chennai, November 4: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay has written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting necessary action to set up a Bench of the Supreme Court at Chennai, ANI reported on Wednesday. The Chief Minister's Office announced the letter in a Tamil post, sharing images of the letter itself.

Source: ANI via Indian Economic Observer

In the letter, Vijay said setting up a Bench in Chennai is one of the long-pending demands of the State of Tamil Nadu, first mooted by the state in 1980. The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has previously passed resolutions urging a Supreme Court bench for southern India, NationPress reported.

Source: NationPress

1980Year Tamil Nadu first mooted the demand for a Supreme Court Bench
Article 130Constitutional provision cited in the Chief Minister's letter
July 13, 2016Date of the Supreme Court order referring the bench question to a Constitution Bench

Citing Article 130 of the Constitution, the Chief Minister noted that the Supreme Court shall sit in Delhi or in such other place or places as the Chief Justice of India may, with the approval of the President, decide. He drew attention to the Supreme Court's order dated July 13, 2016 in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 36 of 2016, V. Vasanthakumar versus H.C. Bhatia and others, in which the question of establishing a Supreme Court Bench was referred to a five-member Constitution Bench headed by the Chief Justice of India.

Vijay requested the Prime Minister to take up the issue afresh with the Supreme Court of India to reconsider its stand and obtain a favourable decision for setting up a Supreme Court Bench at Chennai, citing the long-pending demand and Chennai's importance among the South Indian states. The Bar Bulletin noted the demand is aimed at improving access to justice for litigants from southern states, who must travel to New Delhi — with the cost that involves — to pursue matters before the apex court.

Source: The Bar Bulletin

The proposal for regional benches has been raised before: the Law Commission's 229th Report of 2009 recommended a Constitution Bench at Delhi and four regional Cassation Benches at Delhi, Chennai or Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai, while the Supreme Court's Full Court had earlier found no justification for establishing benches outside Delhi. No response from the Prime Minister's Office had been reported at the time of writing; whether the Centre takes the demand up with the Supreme Court is the next step to watch.