Gurugram, May 25 – Following the fire incident in the record room located in the District and Sessions Court Complex in Gurugram, the Inspecting Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Ashwini Kumar Mishra, visited the court complex on Sunday late evening. District and Sessions Judge Narender Sura, along with other judicial and administrative officers, was also present during the inspection.
At the time of inspection, the fire had not been completely brought under control. Despite this, Justice Mishra inspected the affected building while ensuring compliance with all necessary safety measures and administrative protocols and obtained detailed information about the situation.
During the inspection, Justice Mishra directed all judicial officers to ensure the early reconstruction of files in cases where records had been affected by the fire. He stated that the High Court would extend full cooperation in this process so that judicial work does not suffer. He clarified that while judgments in some cases may take time due to the damage to records, all records would be reconstructed in a phased manner.
*Earlier, Justice Mishra also chaired a meeting with administrative and judicial officers at the PWD Rest House.*
The meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner Uttam Singh, Police Commissioner Shibas Kaviraj, District and Sessions Judge Narender Sura, Additional District & Sessions Judge
Yashwinder Paul Singh, CJM Rajat Verma, Gurugram Bar Association President Chandrakant Sharma, General Secretary Rahul Dhankhar, and other officials. During the meeting, a preliminary assessment of the damage caused by the fire was conducted and necessary directions were issued to the administration.
District and Sessions Judge Narender Sura stated that the final assessment of the damage could not yet be conducted due to the high temperature in the affected building. Structural assessment of some portions of the building is still pending, and entry into the premises is currently considered unsafe. A detailed inspection and actual assessment of the damage will be carried out only after reports are received from the NDRF/SDRF and technical agencies.
*21 Courts to Function from PWD Rest House Under Alternative Arrangements; Administration Provides All Necessary Facilities*
The District and Sessions Judge stated that the functioning of nearly 21 courts operating from the old court building had been affected due to the incident. Accordingly, arrangements have been made for all these courts to function from the PWD Rest House as an alternative arrangement. Directions have also been issued by Chief Minister Sh. Nayab Singh Saini to administrative officers to ensure that all necessary facilities are provided to judicial officers for smooth court functioning. The administration is extending full cooperation to ensure uninterrupted judicial work under the alternative arrangements. Special emphasis has been placed on ensuring hearings in urgent and essential matters so that the general public does not face inconvenience.
He further stated that, as per preliminary information, most of the records stored in the old record room of the lower courts had been severely affected by the fire. However, assessment of the actual status of pending cases in some courts is still pending, as entry into the building has not yet been permitted for safety reasons. The complete situation will become clear only after reports from technical teams are received.
*Gurugram Bar Association to Extend Full Cooperation in Record Reconstruction*
Following the fire incident in the record room of the District and Sessions Court Complex, the Gurugram Bar Association has also actively stepped forward to support efforts aimed at restoring normal judicial functioning. Gurugram Bar Association President Chandrakant Sharma and General Secretary Rahul Dhankhar stated that the Bar Association would extend full cooperation to the judiciary and administration in the process of reconstruction of records and files affected by the fire.
The office-bearers of the Bar Association said that while the situation is certainly challenging, the judicial system is working with full seriousness and coordination. They stated that records affected in the incident would be reconstructed as per rules and advocates would also provide all necessary assistance in the process.
Appealing to the general public, they said there is no need to panic. Judicial work is continuing smoothly through alternative arrangements, and hearings in urgent matters are being conducted without interruption.
The Bar Association office-bearers further stated that through coordination among the judiciary, administration, and advocates, the situation would soon be normalized and all possible assistance would be extended to the affected parties.
