HIGH COURT ORDERS IMMEDIATE SHIFT OF GURUGRAM DISTRICT COURT TO NEW 'TOWER OF JUSTICE' COMPLEX

CHANDIGARH: In a major intervention aimed at restoring paralyzed judicial operations, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the immediate relocation of the Gurugram District Court to the newly constructed judicial complex, widely known as the "Tower of Justice."

The Division Bench, comprising Acting Chief Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra and Justice Rohit Kapoor, passed the order during a suo motu proceeding. The court initiated the case earlier this year to address the prolonged delays plaguing the construction of the new facility, which was originally scheduled for completion in October 2020.

Emergency Relocation Triggered by Catastrophic Fire
The necessity for an immediate relocation escalated dramatically following a recent devastating fire at the old Gurugram court premises. The fire destroyed an extensive volume of essential judicial records and caused a partial structural collapse of the building.

Following safety assessments, state authorities declared the old premises entirely unfit for occupation. Consequently, the entire District Judgeship was forced to operate out of a makeshift layout at a local guest house. This temporary arrangement severely restricted judicial capacity, halting regular court proceedings and limiting judges to addressing only urgent, emergency applications.

Acknowledging the disruption, the High Court observed:
"The regular functioning of the Court has been severely hampered, and only urgent matters are being attended to. This situation calls for immediate intervention... any further delay in the shifting of the Court would be prejudicial to the public at large."

Inspection Reveals Structural Defects and Missing Clearances
While the Haryana Public Works Department (PWD) initially assured the Bench that the project was completely finished, subsequent court-ordered evaluations painted a starkly different picture.
A surprise inspection conducted by the District and Sessions Judge of Gurugram revealed that multiple internal and external construction works remained incomplete. Furthermore, standard courtroom furniture had not yet been delivered or installed.

The structural readiness of the building faced a severe test following torrential rains on July 7, which resulted in the complete flooding of the complex’s basement due to a sewage system failure. Additionally, the Bench noted that the facility was set to open without mandatory statutory clearances, including the requisite Fire Department clearance and the Environmental Clearance (EC) from the 
Pollution Control Board.

Public Interest Overrides Bureaucratic Delays
Faced with the choice of leaving the district judiciary in a guest house or moving into an unpolished facility, the High Court prioritized public interest. The Bench granted the state government explicit permission to execute the move immediately, bypassing the standard wait for finalized statutory approvals.

In response, the Engineer-in-Chief of the PWD provided a formal undertaking and an affidavit to the court, promising that all highlighted defects would be rectified without further delay and that the missing environmental and fire clearances would be secured within days.

Project Overview and Next Steps
The Tower of Justice project was first announced by the Haryana government in 2017 with an estimated budget of ₹133 crore. Designed to be the largest judicial complex in North India, the seven-acre facility features two centrally air-conditioned towers standing at seven and eight storeys, respectively. Once fully operational, it will house 55 disabled-friendly courtrooms, a dedicated dispute mediation center, a multi-level parking facility, and modern digital infrastructure for video-conferencing.

The formal inauguration ceremony is scheduled for July 12, 2026. The High Court has directed state authorities to submit a comprehensive compliance report detailing the relocation progress and the status of the required statutory clearances. The matter is scheduled for its next hearing on July 21, 2026.

Discription: The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ordered the immediate relocation of the Gurugram District Court to the newly constructed Tower of Justice complex to restore paralyzed judicial operations. The directive follows a catastrophic fire at the old premises that destroyed vital records and left the structure unsafe, forcing the judiciary to run restrictively out of a local guest house. Although a surprise judicial inspection exposed significant unresolved issues—including incomplete infrastructure, missing furniture, a flooded basement from heavy rainfall, and absent fire and environmental clearances—the High Court prioritized the public interest over bureaucratic perfection. Overriding these delays, the Bench permitted the immediate shift while ordering the Public Works Department to fix all structural defects on the fly ahead of the formal inauguration scheduled for July 12, 2026.