Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh have a joint High Court and two benches. One is in Srinagar and the another one in Jammu.
The Jammu bench was located in the Mubarak Mandi complex in Jammu till the 1990s. In the year 1994, the High Court Complex was shifted from here to Janipur Jammu, the Janipur Court Complex premises, which is an area of several thousand kanals of land, apart from the High Court, the District Complex, the Advocate General’s office, the Judicial Academy and the Registrar’s Office are also located there.
Now the administration has decided to shift the High Court building from Janipur and construct a new building in the Raika Jungle area on the outskirts of Jammu. On June 28, the Chief Justice of India, Justice DY Chandrachud will lay its foundation. This high court complex equipped with modern facilities is estimated to cost Rs 938 crore.
This is being considered as an important step towards reforming the judicial structure in Jammu and Kashmir. To make the visit of the Chief Justice of India to Jammu and Kashmir a success, the Registrar General High Court and the Principal Secretary Chief Justice have formed several committees which are busy round the clock.
Sources told a vernacular news network that this new court complex will be one of the best High Courts in the country. There will be 35 courtrooms, which can be later extended to 70 courtrooms.
This complex will be made environment-friendly. It has been designed by famous architect Guneet Singh Chauhan who has designed many High Courts including Delhi High Court, metro stations and malls. Its construction will be supervised by the High Court judges through the Jammu and Kashmir Project Construction Corporation and the Public Works Department.
The new court complex has three auditoriums, an administrative block, a mediation centre, a medical centre, a computer centre, a judges’ library, chambers for 1,000 lawyers, facilities for litigants, food courts, an archive section, and a total of 35 judges and staff.
It will also be equipped with accommodation, Judicial Academy, convention facilities, a helipad, a fire station, a transport facility centre, etc.
Apart from this, there will be sports, gym and yoga centre facilities for judges and lawyers. The project is targeted to be completed in one and a half years. Sources said that all NOCs (No Objection Certificates) have already been obtained from the Department of Wildlife and Forests.
It should be noted that in the place where this court complex is to be built, there is a forest, for this the matter went to the National Green Tribunal where the High Court filed a reasonable reply, after which the decision came in favour of the High Court.
On the other hand, the lawyers of Jammu are not in favour of shifting the High Court complex from Janipur, most of the lawyers say that it will greatly affect their work.
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court Bar Association Jammu has also constituted a 34-member advisory committee of lawyers which will decide on a permanent strategy against this decision, the important meeting of the committee will be held on Sunday at the High Court Janipur.
Meanwhile, environmental activists and many political and social figures have also expressed their objection to the construction of the High Court in Raika forest.
