Chandigarh: No space to house HC branches at old secretariat building, UT tells court
UT’s senior standing counsel Amit Jhanji told the HC bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Ramesh Kumari that an inspection was carried out in 2023 as well and now again, it has come to fore that there was no space left at the old secretariat building as many departments have been shifted there. Jhanji, however, sought some time to file this affidavit.
The Chandigarh administration has told the Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) that there is no vacant space left at the old secretariat building in Sector-9, that could be used to house some HC branches.
UT’s senior standing counsel Amit Jhanji told the HC bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Ramesh Kumari that an inspection was carried out in 2023 as well and now again, it has come to fore that there was no space left at the old secretariat building as many departments have been shifted there. Jhanji, however, sought some time to file this affidavit.
UT’s response came to HC on August 18, asking UT to explore the possibility of allotting two floors of the old secretariat building for housing some branches of the HC.
The information was shared during the resumed hearing of a public interest litigation (PIL) by the high court employees association secretary Vinod Dhatterwal, highlighting the space constraints at the HC and the problems being faced by the employees, lawyers and public in general.
During the hearing, two major proposals were discussed --a new complex at Sarangpur, which UT has been pressing upon, and providing additional space at the present complex.
Additional solicitor general, Satya Pal Jain told the court that two meetings have taken place with the UT officials and two options are being worked upon. One is the construction of a six-storey block with three levels of basement parking opposite the Bar association hall, which would add around 30-40 courtrooms. But here, the UNESCOs approval would be required, he said.
The second, Jain said, is the UT’s promise to widen roads and build a flyover to manage traffic at PGIMER Chowk if the proposal of construction of a new high court building in Sarangpur is finalised.
The chief justice, during the hearing, said that the proposal of building a new high court complex at Sarangpur be put up before the general house of the Bar and the court be apprised of the decision on next date of hearing. The court made it clear that the complex is not being shifted outside Chandigarh.
The present complex is part of Capitol complex, a UNESCO heritage site, where construction can’t take place to meet future demands. The proposals to have a new complex with 150-odd courts in IT Park area and Sarangpur are being debated upon but have not been finalised. UT has cited environmental concerns with regard to the IT park site, which the HC had proposed.
The next date of hearing has been fixed for September 12.
