Gurgaon: Judicial work in the district returned to normal on Tuesday as district courts began functioning from the newly inaugurated Tower of Justice. This has ended nearly two months of operations from makeshift courtrooms set up after a major fire damaged parts of the old judicial complex in May.The first courts to shift were those operating from the PWD guest house. Now, all district courts, except the dedicated courts dealing with cheque dishonour cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act, are functioning from the newly constructed tower.The move marks the restoration of regular court functioning after weeks during which judicial work was largely confined to urgent matters such as bail applications and stay petitions. Routine hearings in pending civil and criminal cases are expected to resume over the next few days, while matters repeatedly adjourned because of infrastructure constraints will now be listed for regular hearing.Advocate Manish Shandilya welcomed the shift, saying it would restore normal judicial functioning and improve access to justice. “For nearly two months, lawyers and litigants faced considerable inconvenience because of limited courtroom space and restricted functioning. Now, regular hearings can resume and the backlog created after the fire can be addressed more efficiently,” he said.Tower of Justice was inaugurated on July 12 by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, who described modern judicial infrastructure as “no longer a luxury but a vital necessity”. Stressing the need for dignified court facilities, the CJI said judicial complexes must inspire confidence among litigants while enabling faster delivery of justice through technology.Highlighting the workload of the Gurgaon judiciary, the CJI noted that the district has more than 34,000 pending civil cases before the sessions courts, including over 1,000 commercial disputes, besides more than one lakh cheque dishonour cases under the Negotiable Instruments Act, underscoring the need for expanded judicial infrastructure.The new judicial complex comprises interconnected eight-storey and seven-storey towers housing 55 district and sessions courtrooms, judges’ chambers, mediation facilities, digital infrastructure, a library, conference rooms and a bar hall with a seating capacity of around 1,500 advocates.One of the key security features of the building is a dedicated entrance and separate lifts for undertrial prisoners, allowing them to be escorted directly to courtrooms without coming into contact with litigants or the public. Judicial officers said the arrangement would strengthen courtroom security and improve movement within the complex.The completion of Tower of Justice also concludes months of monitoring by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which repeatedly directed Public Works Department to expedite the project. During the final phase of construction, the high court expressed dissatisfaction over delays, imposed costs on the department for missing deadlines and directed officials to make the building operational at the earliest.Advocate Mayank Raghav said the new infrastructure would improve both efficiency and security. “The separate access for undertrials, better courtroom facilities and improved infrastructure will benefit judges, lawyers and litigants alike. The district judiciary has finally received infrastructure that matches the volume and complexity of litigation in Gurgaon,” he said.
