HC warns Punjab of contempt for challenging Malerkotla judicial housing order

Just over a fortnight ago, the Punjab and Haryana High Court ordered that the guesthouse and a residence currently occupied by the Malerkotla Deputy Commissioner and Senior Superintendent of Police be vacated forthwith. Today, a Division Bench directed an IAS officer to appear virtually on Wednesday and explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against him.

The direction came after the State sought the review of its September 12 vacation order. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry asserted that a bare reading of extracts of the application in the matter showed that it was “bordering on contempt”.

The directions came on a bunch of petitions filed in public interest by the District Bar Association, Malerkotla, through advocates SS Bahl, Gaurav Vir Singh Behl, Raageshwari Sharma and Jugraj Singh Chauhan.

The court asserted that the sole ground apparently taken by Punjab was the building committee resolution passed on September 2, which accepted the State’s proposal to build permanent houses for district and sessions judges, including courtrooms, within one year.

The Bench added the building committee resolution was taken into account by the court while passing the order on September 12. “Therefore, the state of Punjab or its functionary have no business to go behind the judicial order darted September 12.”

The Bench, on the previous date of hearing, had made it clear that the State’s repeated failure to provide permanent courtrooms and judicial officers’ housing compelled the court to intervene. “Looking at the large number of cases pending in Malerkotla and the State repeatedly failing to provide any infrastructure in the form of permanent courtrooms and residential accommodations for the judicial officers, despite formation of new revenue district of Malerkotla on June 2, 2021, and creation of Sessions Division at Malerkotla – subject to availability of infrastructure – way back in August 2023, this court is compelled, by reasons attributed to State of Punjab, to direct that the guesthouse presently occupied by the Deputy Commissioner and the other house occupied by the Senior Superintendent of Police, be vacated forthwith and appropriate allotment letters be issued in favour of the District & Sessions Judge, for official residence/courtroom (if viable) qua District & Sessions Judge,” the Bench asserted.

The Bench had also referred to its building committee’s opinion that the accommodation, presently occupied by the executive officers, could be provided to the judicial officers, if the promise of the state functionaries to construct permanent courtrooms and residential accommodation for the judicial officers was not complied with within one year.