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Directs Urgent Operation of 'Tower of Justice' in Gurugram Amidst Crisis
The has issued a landmark order directing the immediate relocation of the to the newly constructed 'Tower of Justice'. The directive comes as an emergency measure to mitigate the severe disruption caused by a recent, devastating fire that rendered the existing court complex unfit for use.
A Crisis of Infrastructure The saga of the Gurugram Judicial Courts complex—long-awaited and repeatedly delayed—reached a breaking point following a major fire incident that destroyed crucial court records and caused partial structural collapse of the existing building. With the district judiciary currently operating out of a guest house and restricted to hearing only urgent matters, the Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor recognized that the state of affairs at the Gurugram had become untenable.
The court had previously taken cognizance of the delays on , after repeated construction deadlines were missed by state authorities.
The Clash Over Preparedness While the state authorities signaled that the 'Tower of Justice' was ready for occupation, a field report submitted by the District and Sessions Judge, Gurugram, painted a starkly different picture. The inspection conducted on , revealed that: * Interior and exterior finishing remained incomplete. * Necessary furniture had not been installed. * The basement had suffered inundation due to sewage backflow during recent rains. * Critical statutory clearances, including environmental clearance (EC) and fire safety certifications, were still pending.
Despite these gaps, the Engineer-in-Chief of the
appeared before the High Court, affirming that the building is now complete and promising that any remaining shortcomings would be rectified
"without any further loss of time."
Key Observations The High Court’s decision was driven by the urgent need to restore the court's functionality. The bench noted:
"Ordinarily, we may have waited for all such steps to be taken, but as we find that the judicial work in the District Court Complex is severely curtailed, any further delay in the shifting of the Court would be to the public at large."
Furthermore, in prioritizing over procedural delays, the Court observed:
"Considering the peculiar facts prevailing at the , Gurugram... the shifting of the , Gurugram to the at Gurugram is inevitable in the predominant ."
A Decisive Move In a move that bypasses traditional bureaucratic inertia, the High Court has permitted the State to proceed with the relocation , allowing for the formal inauguration even while final statutory approvals from the and are pending.
The Court has demanded that the State authorities file an confirming compliance with these directions by . By choosing to prioritize access to justice over absolute administrative perfection, the High Court has set a forceful precedent for government accountability in critical infrastructure projects, ensuring that the citizens of Gurugram are not left without a functioning judicial system during an emergency.
