Puducherry: Chief minister of Puducherry V Narayanasamy on Sunday (August 11) reiterated the plea of the territorial government to the Madras high court to set up its bench on the lines of the Madurai bench.

He was addressing judicial officers on the concluding day of the two-day state-level conference of the Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry Legal Services Authorities on "Alternative Dispute Resolutions".

Addressing the gathering, Narayanasamy said, "We want a bench of the Madras high court on the same lines as Madurai presently has."

He appealed to the judge of the Supreme Court Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, who was present to use his good offices for the establishment of the high court bench in the union territory.

Also, Narayanasamy said the Puducherry government had enhanced the monthly assistance for young lawyers from Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000.

He recalled how the erstwhile French regime in Puducherry followed alternative disputes redressal methods for amicable settlement of the disputes of both the parties to the case.

He said pendency of cases in courts across the country was a matter of concern and asked advocates to put their heart and soul in the early hearing of cases.

Justice Kaul said both the judges and lawyers were important and played a crucial role in carrying forward the advantages of alternative disputes redressal mechanism such as mediation.

Madras high court judge Justice Vineet Kothari, who is also executive chairman of Tamil Nadu State Legal Services Authority, referred to the subjects discussed at the two-day meet.