"Everyone has started judging the judges": Madras High Court on fisherfolk protesting against its Loop Road encroachment order

The Madras High Court Wednesday observed that public has started judging judges. .The observation was made in light of the sit in protests that the fisherfolk in the area around Loop road in Chennai have been staging since last week, and the growing adverse public perception around an order passed by the Court earlier to remove fish stalls from the area.A bench of Justices SS Sundar and PB Balaji has been hearing a suo motu petition for removal of fisherfolk and their stalls from Loop road off the Marina Beach in Chennai."Fishermen are asserting as if it's their right because that is what they have been taught. Now, everyone has started judging every judge. People tend to believe everything. So, the state should show some discretion. They (fisherfolk) need to know that this is public property that they have been encroaching upon," the High Court said.Hence, the Tamil Nadu government should use discretion and rid the area of encroachers, the Court made it clear..The Court also said if the government was reluctant to remove the encroachers because it feared that opposition parties would raise the issue in the State assembly, then it was "ready to implead every political party here." "This always happens. People tend to sensationalise or politicise every issue. Our order is only in public Interest. That is all we have done," the Court said. It accepted the submission of the Additional Advocate General J Ravindran that as an interim measure, the fish vendors would be restricted to just the western side of the road and there will not be any obstruction to vehicular traffic. Most judges of the Madras High Court use the Loop Road to reach the Court from their official residences in the Greenways Road area.