2026:CGHC:9786-DB NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR WPPIL No. 11 of 2026 Praveen Ware, Aged About 28 Years, HDD-46, Siddhi Vinayak, Kabir Nagar, Raipur, Chhattisgarh ... Petitioner(s)

versus

1-State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Chief Secretary, Government Of Chhattisgarh, C/o Mantralay Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh P.O. 492002

2-State Of Chhattisgarh Through Principal Secretary, Law And Legislative Affairs Department, C/o Mantralay Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh P.O. 492002

3-State Of Chhattisgarh Through Principal Secretary, Public Work Department, C/o Mantralay Mahanadi Bhawan, Naya Raipur, Chhattisgarh P.O. 492002

4-Registrar General High Court Of Chhattisgarh, C/o Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh P.O. 495003 (Administrative Side)

... Respondent(s)

For Petitioner(s) :Mr. Praveen Ware, In Person (through Video Conferencing)

For Respondent(s) No. :Mr. Vivek Sharma, Advocate General assisted by Mr.

1 to 3 Sangharsh Pandey, Government Advocate.

For Respondent No. 4 :Mr. Chandresh Shrivastava, Advocate.

Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Ravindra Kumar Agrawal , Judge

Order on Board

Per Ramesh Sinha , Chief Justice

25/02/2026

1 Heard Mr. Praveen Ware, petitioner, appearing in person, Mr. Vivek Sharma, learned Advocate General for the State/respondents No. 1 to 3 as well as Mr. Chandresh Shrivastava, learned counsel for the respondent No. 4.

2 IA No. 1 of 2026, is an application seeking exemption from deposit of Rs.

15,000/- under Rule 81 of the Chhattisgarh High Court Rules, 2007. For the reasons stated in the application, the same is allowed and the petitioner is exempted from depositing the aforesaid amount, in exceptional circumstances.

3 By this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for the following relief(s):

“ 10.1 That this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to allow the present writ petition of Public Interest Litigation

10.2 That this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the Respondents, under the administrative and supervisory control of this Hon'ble Court, to conduct a comprehensive inspection of washroom and drinking water facilities in all 23 District Courts and courts subordinate thereto across the State of Chhattisgarh and to place on record a district-wise inspection report, supported by recent photographs, indicating the total number of washrooms available in each court premises, including separate washrooms for men, women, persons with disabilities and transgender persons, along with the functional status and hygienic condition of each such facility, as well as the total number and location of drinking water facilities in each court premises, including water coolers, taps, dispensers or RO units, their accessibility to litigants, advocates, court staff, persons with disabilities and elderly persons, their operational status during court working hours, the hygienic and maintenance condition thereof including cleanliness of taps, filters, storage tanks and surrounding areas, and whether regular drinking water quality testing is conducted and records thereof are maintained.

10.3 That this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the Respondents to make functional, hygienic and accessible all existing washrooms found to be non-functional or unusable, and to ensure availability of clean and safe drinking water in all court premises within a time-bound manner.

10.4 That this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to direct the Respondents to establish a simple and effective grievance redressal mechanism in every District Court and courts subordinate thereto for issues relating to washrooms, sanitation and drinking water, including the provision of a dedicated contact number or helpline for lodging complaints, prominent display of such contact details outside every washroom within court premises, maintenance of a daily complaint register recording complaints received and action taken thereon, and installation of a complaint box at an acce