Chandigarh: Punjab and Haryana High Court gets 15 acres for horizontal expansion

Tribune News Service

Saurabh Malik

Chandigarh, April 18

Just about a fortnight after a Division Bench made it clear that land measuring 15 acres at Sarangpur village was required to be considered for the Punjab and Haryana High Court’s horizontal expansion, the “competent authority” in UT has accorded its approval to it.

In a status report placed before the Bench of Acting Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Lapita Banerji, Adviser to the UT Administrator Rajeev Verma also made it clear that additional parking space near the existing HC complex was on its way.

The status report, among other things, stated: “The entire matter with regard to earmarking of 15 acres at Sarangpur has been examined. Accordingly, approval has been accorded to earmarking of 15 acres of land at Sarangpur, as additional land requirement, for the use of the Punjab and Haryana High Court by the competent authority.”

Referring to the directions issued on the previous date of hearing on providing parking area in Chandigarh’s Sector 6, the status report said the matter regarding space behind the MLA hostel in Sector 4 was placed before the ‘sub-group’ of the Chandigarh Heritage Conservation Committee. “It has approved the creation of parking space behind the MLA hostel in Sector 4,” the status report read.

The Bench had earlier observed that the Administration was proposing to offer a plot measuring approximately 8.5 acres. But the assessment made on the earlier occasion “preferably of 14.86 acres” was correct.

Elaborating, the Bench had observed that the space would also be required for the offices of Advocates-General of Punjab and Haryana as well as they were also facing immense space crunch following storage of judicial record required to be maintained. The issue could be redressed by giving them some space out of the area liable to be identified or allotted.

“Thus, in the considered opinion of this court, the Administration should consider giving a chunk of 15 acres at Sarangpur village, from the reserved area of 15.36, which is contiguous to the plot of 8.5 acres at the site identified as per the layout plan appended, as the same is lying vacant since the area at Sarangpur is under the nascent stage of development,” the Bench had observed.

The directions came on a plea seeking directions to the Union of India, the Union Territory of Chandigarh and other respondents to expedite the High Court’s “holistic development plan” for reducing the load on the existing building.

One of the petitions in the matter was filed in public interest by Vinod Dhatterwal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Employees Association and other petitioners. The Bench was told that approximately10, 000 lawyers, around 3,300 court employees, nearly 3,000 advocates’ clerks, employees of advocate-general offices of the two states, security personnel, uncountable number of litigants and other employees of different departments visited the court daily.

Petitoners’ claim

One of the petitions in the matter was filed in public interest by Vinod Dhatterwal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Employees Association and other petitioners. The Bench was told that approximately 10, 000 lawyers, around 3,300 court employees, nearly 3,000 advocates’ clerks, employees of advocate-general offices of the two states, security personnel, an uncountable number of litigants visited the HC daily.

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