New courtrooms in Ludhiana court complex ready

After facing several hurdles in its construction and a considerable delay of two-and-a-half years, the new building housing additional courtrooms in Ludhiana district court complex is finally complete and is all set to be inaugurated on September 21. Justice Hemant Gupta of the Supreme Court and Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Krishna Murari, will be presiding over the inaugural event.

The construction of new courtrooms, which was started in 2014, had been mired by slow release of funds by the Punjab government resulting in several delays. The building was supposed to be completed in March 2017 but the deadline was shifted to August 31, 2018 and then to December 31, 2018 and then further extended to August 2019.

The state-of-the-art building is one of its kind in the state and the news of the inauguration in two days from now has brought a cheer to the advocates and litigants alike.

“The new courtrooms will definitely ease out congestion and have the latest technologies. The seating arrangement as well as other facilities are par excellence and these court rooms will go a long way in making the overall environment better,” said advocate Parupkar Singh Ghuman.

At the time the proposal was first mooted in 2014, five courtrooms were supposed to be constructed. However, later, the need to construct 13 courtrooms was felt and formalities and approvals required took another two years. As a result, work was affected for another two years from 2015 to 2016 when it finally resumed in March 2017.

There are currently 52 courtrooms in Ludhiana court complex. Out of these, as many as 12 courts are functioning from the rooms of ahlmads (clerk) due to shortage of space. A visit to these courtrooms which are functioning from the room of ahlmads depict the sorry state of affairs. Not only are these extremely congested, these get jampacked and litigants can be seen struggling for space.

Thousands of litigants from Ludhiana district as well as from far-flung places throng the court complex daily. Ashok Kumar, who is fighting a property dispute case lamented how the present building is highly congested and lacks basic facilities. “It’s always a hassle coming to the courts as these are always overcrowded. The toilets are dirty and drinking water facilities are also bad. With 13 courtooms being added, it will surely be a breather,” he said.

Adesh Gupta, executive engineer, public works department (PWD), said that the seven- storeyed building has been constructed at a cost of ₹23.57 crore.