Lawyers divided over shifting of court complex to Nangal Shama site

Deepkamal Kaur

Jalandhar, September 8

The proposal to shift the court complex to a new site in Nangal Shama on the Hoshiarpur road has left the legal fraternity divided with the senior lawyers resisting the move and their juniors favouring it.

While the senior lawyers find it comfortable working from the existing courts and chambers they have right across, the junior lawyers have been scrambling for space.

Since there is no space left for additional chambers, they have to hire spaces in adjoining commercial buildings. The senior lawyers opine that shifting to a new location which was nearly 6 km ahead would become a hassle for them. The junior lawyers hope to get space at reasonable charges for chambers in the new court complex.

The District Bar Association (DBA) has called for a “No work day” to resolve the issue on Monday. The association even announced a penalty of Rs 5,000 on a member if found violating its directions. Tejinder Singh Dhaliwal, DBA secretary, had on Friday called an urgent meeting of the executive committee under Aditya Jain, DBA president.

The members of the committee resolved that the matter should be taken up at a General House meeting which had been called in the old library hall of the DBA complex at 12:45 pm on Monday.

A release on the matter reads: “An active participation of all members is necessary to decide whether the existing site is suitable for the construction of lawyers’ chambers or the Nangal Shama location is more appropriate. The district administrative complex will not be shifted. So, a firm decision is to be taken so that it can be communicated to the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chief Minister, District Judge and Deputy Commissioner.”

Notably, the High Court building committee had conducted a meeting through video conferencing on August 31. The committee had directed the DC to start the process of land acquisition. Since the DBA had not been involved in the discussions, its executive members were upset over the issue.