Judges at doorstep of the deprived, win hearts of thousands

Shyam Sundar Vattam I NT

Bengaluru: In an extraordinary gesture, two judges of a court in Tumakuru district went personally to the house of an old man who has been incapacitated due to a fracture in his waist, to collect an application regarding a dispute over a piece of land allotted to him by the state government five decades ago.

The rare incident occurred in Kemkere vllage in Chikkanayakanahalil village. Puttaiah, 80, broke his waist when he accidentally fell down from a tree more than 20 years ago. Since then he was bedridden and unable to move. In 1966, the government had allotted him two acres of land for his livelihood.

His children are physically challenged and taking advantage of the situation, upper castes had allegedly taken over the two acres and used it for agricultural purposes without giving anything to Puttaiah. A complaint given to the Police and Revenue Departments went in vain

The old man wanted to attend a free legal aid camp held in his village with the help of his friends but it did not happen due to some reason.

On coming to know about this, the two judges of Chikkanayakanahalli Taluk Senior Grade Court, Venkateshappa and Srikanth, went to the doorstep of Puttaiah to collect the application before the beginning of the free legal aid camp and also gave him a ration kit.

They have promised to appoint a public prosecutor to take up his case. This act of the two judges has been hugely appreciated by the people of Chikkanayakanahalli.