Holistic development plan: HC summons Chandigarh home secretary

The high court bench of acting chief justice Ritu Bahri and justice Nidhi Gupta passed the order in a plea by Punjab and Haryana High Court Employees Association secretary Vinod Dhatterwal, seeking implementation of the holistic development plan, which envisages setting up of multi-storey buildings to cater to the requirement of additional space

The Punjab and Haryana high court has summoned the UT home secretary on December 18 in a petition highlighting space crunch at the high court.

The infrastructure to cater to high footfall on the court premises has not kept its pace, the plea has said, demanding intervention from HC on judicial side. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

The high court bench of acting chief justice Ritu Bahri and justice Nidhi Gupta passed the order in a plea by Punjab and Haryana High Court Employees Association secretary Vinod Dhatterwal, seeking implementation of the holistic development plan, which envisages setting up of multi-storey buildings to cater to the requirement of additional space.

The infrastructure to cater to high footfall on the court premises has not kept its pace, the plea has said, demanding intervention from HC on judicial side.

HC caters to cases arising out of two states and Chandigarh, and handles footfall of around 30,000 people per day, many coming through cars. It has two buildings — heritage and a new block — accommodating most of the current day needs. But expansion plans are stalled, as the complex comes under UNESCO heritage project.

During the last hearing, UT had told court that it was exploring options to provide a piece of land in Sarangpur, which could be used for keeping judicial records.

However, during resumed hearing on Monday, UT sought more time to give details about this. Currently, HC records are being kept at distant places in Sector 17 and Industrial Area, apart from the main complex. In view of this, the court summoned the UT home secretary on December 18.