Punjab and Haryana High Court open to shifting premises with Bar Association’s concurrence

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today made it clear that it was still open to the idea of shifting its premises, provided such a move had the concurrence of General Body of Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association.

Alongside, two other proposals also came up for discussion before the bench — conversion of adjoining forest land into non-forest area to allow expansion of the existing premises, and construction of new structure opposite High Court Bar Room with three-level underground parking, three floors above the ground, and 16 additional courtrooms. The project, estimated to cost about Rs 200 crore would, however, requires clearance from the UNESCO.

The matter came up as the bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Ramesh Kumari resumed hearing on the issue of space crunch in the high court. Additional Solicitor-General of India Satya Pal Jain submitted a series of meetings with the stakeholders were held.

In the first meeting held on August 5, there was “almost unanimity” among stakeholders that “the present space/accommodation available for the court, lawyers as well as the parking was not sufficient for effective working of the high court. There are a lot of problems pertaining to space, parking, etc., which are getting aggravated day by day”.

The bench was the told that the Bar president was requested to talk to the members and get their opinion as to whether they would like to continue at the same place or go to a new building in Sarangpur village. Jain added the allotment of a plot for construction of a new building in IT Park was also deliberated, but the UT Administration officials made it “absolutely clear” that they were not in a position to allot any land in IT Park.

At a subsequent meeting, the Bar Association’s president produced a resolution passed by its executive committee, declaring the existing accommodation insufficient. It stated the executive committee was of the opinion that “it would be in the interest of everyone that we opt for a new building in Sarangpur village as offered by the Chandigarh Administration”.

It was also pointed out during the course of hearing by those present that construction of a completely new high court building at Sarangpur along with related paraphernalia at the alternative site could take “not less than 10 years”. As such, additional construction within the existing premises was also discussed as an interim measure.

Taking note of this, the bench recorded: “The executive committee has passed a resolution that they are ready and willing to search for an alternative site for the high court. Let the resolution of the executive committee be placed before General Body, which if passed, would definitely be accepted by the court, not otherwise.”

Jain during the course of hearing also suggested that the forest land touching the high court could be converted into non-forest for the purpose of expansion and sought a week’s time to come back with a response in this regard. He further informed the bench about the possibility of constructing a new complex opposite Bar Room. Apart from 16 judges’ quarters, the building would provide multi-level parking, easing congestion.