P&H High Court sets June 19 deadline for completion of north India’s largest court complex in Gurugram

The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Monday ordered the Haryana government to ensure that the construction of Gurugram's Tower of Justice, north India’s largest judicial courts complex, should be completed and handed over to the concerned Districts and Sessions Judge by June 19.A Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry warned of contempt of court proceedings against the State Chief Secretary and concerned Engineer-in-Chief in case of any failure to meet the deadline.The Court had recently taken a suo motu cognizance of the delay in completion of the judicial complex, which will have at least 55 court rooms with all modern facilities. Today, the Bench said the project has been hanging fire for the past 10 years with work still not complete. Last month, it had set a deadline of May 15 for the project. After the State gave an assurance that the project would be completed by June 30, the Court passed the following direction:"We direct the State to complete the Tower of Justice and handover the same to the District and Sessions Judge, Gurugram, latest by 19th of June, failing which this Court shall issue contempt notice against the Chief Secretary, Haryana, and also against the Engineer-in-Chief.".The matter will be heard next on June 22..In 2017, Haryana government had announced that the Tower of Justice would be established in three years over seven acres in 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 centrally air-conditioned two 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, Chief Justice of India (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.