Chandigarh: Panel led by sitting judge to examine HC expansion plan
The first meeting of the high court-appointed panel will take place on October 9, ahead of next court hearing on October 17
The Punjab and Haryana high court on Friday announced formation of a panel to look into the space crunch issue at high court and whether a new complex should be built elsewhere in the city.
Hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) on the matter, the bench of chief justice Sheel Nagu and justice Sanjiv Berry said the panel will be led by a sitting high court judge, and will have members from the Bar association, Chandigarh administration, Punjab, Haryana, central government and other stakeholders.
The first meeting of the panel will take place on October 9, with the next court hearing on the PIL slated for October 17.
Detailed order of the proceedings is awaited to throw light on the names of different stakeholders spelt out by the high court.
The development comes close on the heels of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association passing a resolution against shifting of the court complex from its present location during its September 22 general house meeting.
The UT administration has offered around 45 acres in Sarangpur to relocate the court complex to address the paucity of space.
However, HC is sceptical of the move due to traffic congestion issues on the road from PGIMER to Sarangpur.
A site in IT Park was also discussed as an alternative during previous hearings. However, the idea was shot down by the UT administration, citing environmental concerns.
The administration maintains that expansion can take place at the current site itself. However, the area earmarked for the purpose will have to be brought down to 2-3 lakh square metres with clearance from UNESCO, as the high court is part of the Capitol Complex, declared a world heritage site in 2016.
The administration has already submitted a fresh proposal with a downsized expansion plan to UNESCO during a key meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, on September 6. The revision came after UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee and its advisory body, ICOMOS, had earlier raised objections, warning that the original plan could compromise the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of the Capitol Complex, a World Heritage Site, which comprises the HC complex.
A proposal had also come up during the hearings about using forest land abutting the complex for expansion. However, UT opposed it.
Now, the panel will examine afresh how much land UT can provide at the existing location and how it can be utilised, keeping future requirements in view. The proposal of shifting to Sarangpur will also be considered by the panel.
During the hearing, UT’s senior standing counsel Amit Jhanji said the panel can look into the issue holistically and come up with a plan.
The expansion plan envisages constructing multi-storey buildings to address the pressing space crunch, given that the court handles over 10,000 lawyers, 3,300 employees, thousands of litigants and around 10,000 vehicles daily, triggering massive traffic jams daily.
There are also not adequate court rooms if the current strength of 50 odd judges were to go up to the sanctioned 85 in future.
