Justice R Subhash Reddy favours creating Courts of Appeal

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 4

Justice R Subhash Reddy – who retired as a Supreme Court judge on Tuesday after a stint of more than three years – favoured creating Courts of Appeal to hear appeals arising out of orders passed by high courts.

”I remember very recently AG (Attorney General) suggested a further court of appeal above high courts which can be the final court in ordinary civil and criminal matters by making suitable constitutional amendments,” Justice Reddy said at a farewell function organised by the Supreme Court Bar Association.

The Attorney General’s suggestion may solve the issue to some extent but at the same time there was a need to address the issue of huge backlog in district courts, he said, adding faster disposal of cases required modernising the procedural laws as well.

Attorney General KK Venugopal had on the Constitution Day in 2020 suggested structural change in the Judiciary to set up four Courts of Appeal—with 15 Judges each sitting in four parts of India—to hear appeals from the high courts and to make the top court a truly constitutional court.

In his farewell address, CJI NV Ramana hailed Justice Reddy as a man of compassion having consciousness about social realities who upheld and protected people’s liberties.

Justice Reddy, who was elevated to the apex court on November 2, 2018, has the distinction of being the first judge from Telangana, and after his retirement, the total strength of apex court judges would come down to 32 against the sanctioned strength of 34.