The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday ordered the immediate shifting of the Gurugram District Court to its newly constructed judicial court complex dubbed the 'Tower of Justice.'.A Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor passed the order in a suo motu case initiated earlier this year to track the agonisingly slow construction of the new complex..The Court noted that a fire incident at the existing Gurugram court complex had left judicial work paralysed."After the fire incident, the Court has been shifted to a guest house from where it is presently operating. It is quite obvious that the regular functioning of the Court has been severely hampered, and only urgent matters are being attended to. This situation calls for immediate intervention," it said.It had, therefore, urged the State to expedite the shifting of the court complex to its new location. While the Public Works Department (PWD) practically rushed to assure the Bench that the new building is now finally complete, the Court’s order reveals a dramatic, behind-the-scenes reality check that involved water-logged basements, and missing bureaucratic clearances.The Court on Thursday, however, noted that shift of the courts cannot wait further."Considering the peculiar facts prevailing at the District Judgeship, Gurugram, where the judicial work is severely curtailed, we are of the view that the shifting of the District Judgeship, Gurugram to the New Judicial Courts Complex, Gurugram (Tower of Justice) at Gurugram is inevitable in the predominant public interest," the Court said. It, therefore, issued directions to shift to the new court complex immediately, while ironing out remaining issues - including pending clearances - as soon as possible. "We permit the State authorities to ensure that the shifting of the Court Complex is carried out forthwith, awaiting formal statutory approvals from the Pollution Control Board and the Fire Department and that the formal inauguration, etc., of the complex (Tower of Justice) be proceeded with," the Court ordered. The inauguration of the new complex is scheduled on July 12. Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant is expected to attend the event as the Chief Guest. .In 2017, the Haryana government had announced that the Tower of Justice would be established in three years over seven acres in the Gurugram district at a cost of about ₹133 crore."This would be the largest judicial complex in north India, and would comprise 55 court rooms with all modern facilities. This project would be completed in three years," the government had said in a statement.The complex was planned to have two centrally air-conditioned towers, with seven and eight storeys, respectively."Each floor would comprise ten courts each and public facilities, meeting hall and conference hall would be provided on the third floor. The complex would also have facilities of bank, post office, district Bar library, canteen, office of District Attorney and mediation room. He said that the buildings would be made disabled-friendly. It was also being planned to provide multi-level parking. Separate rooms would also be provided for investigating officers, and for taking statements of inmates and doctors through video conference," the government had said then.In January 2017, CJI Surya Kant, who was then a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court, along with Justice AK Mittal, had inaugurated the construction of the judicial complex. .The construction was originally scheduled to wrap up by October 30, 2020. Fast forward through six years of repeated assurances and broken deadlines, and the High Court finally lost its patience, taking suo motu cognizance of the delay on April 29, 2026.Further, a massive fire tore through the existing old court complex recently. The disaster destroyed a vast number of crucial court records and caused a significant portion of the old building to collapse.With the State authorities declaring the old premises entirely "unfit for occupation," the entire Gurugram District Judgeship was forced to pack up and operate out of a makeshift setup at a local guest house.The regular functioning of the courts ground to a near-halt, with judges only able to take up emergency matters..On July 1, 2026, the Engineer-in-Chief of the Haryana PWD placed a communication before the High Court stating that the new building was 100 per cent complete, ready to be handed over, and even proposed a grand formal inauguration for July 12, 2026.Not wanting to take just the executive's word for it, the High Court directed the District and Sessions Judge of Gurugram to conduct a surprise inspection on July 1 and July 2..The District Judge's subsequent inspection report served as a stark reality check, revealing that both interior and exterior works remained glaringly incomplete at multiple spots and that basic court furniture had neither been supplied nor installed. To make matters worse, following heavy rains on July 7, the entire basement area of the brand-new complex was completely flooded because the sewerage water system backfired. Furthermore, the building was still operating without mandatory Fire Department clearances and the Environmental Clearance (EC) from the Pollution Control Board..When the matter came up for hearing on Wednesday, the High Court confronted the Additional Advocate General (AAG) of Haryana with the District Judge’s damning findings.On Thursday, the Engineer-in-Chief of the PWD appeared personally before the Court, submitting a formal statement and an affidavit. The official gave an undertaking that all shortcomings would be instantly fixed without losing any more time, that statutory norms were being complied with, and fire and environmental clearances had already been applied for and would come through in a day or two.Faced with a tough choice between keeping the courts trapped in a guest house or moving into a slightly unpolished new building, the High Court chose the public interest."Ordinarily, we may have waited for all such steps (awaiting clearances) 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 prejudicial to the public at large," it said. .The High Court has ordered the state authorities to file a detailed compliance report regarding the shift and the acquired clearances, adjourning the matter to July 21, 2026..Additional Advocate General Deepak Balyan appeared for the State of Haryana..[Read Order]
