A prominent landmark of the Capital, Patiala House District Courts, housed in the erstwhile palace of the Maharaja of Patiala near India Gate, is all set to be shifted to Rowse Avenue, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, an area suited for judges and litigants.
The Delhi Government is going to move a Cabinet proposal for the construction of the new court premises in New Delhi district near the Comptroller and Auditor General of India building at DDU Marg.
The Delhi Government has earmarked five acres for this purpose and as per the initial plan, the new court premises will have ten floors and will be built at a cost of Rs 306 crores.
The project will be monitored by Delhi High Court including construction of the building and shifting of the court. Top sources told The Pioneer that the law Department is ready with a Cabinet proposal after getting approval from the fire department, Airports Authority of India, Delhi Urban Arts Commission, North Delhi Municipal Corporation, land and Building Department and Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC).
“As per the plan, the new court, which will be a green building, will have 41 courts and two underground parking lots.
The site at Rowse Avenue, near DDU Marg, measuring five acres, seemed more suitable for the purpose of shifting the district courts from the existing court complex at Patiala House,” sources said.
Back in 1977, due to space constraints and the volume of case files piled up at the two courts at Parliament Street and Shahdara courts, it was decided that Delhi needed another district court. This court was set up in a palace built for the erstwhile Maharaja of Patiala and, therefore, christened the Patiala House Courts.
However, there are only 800 chambers for over 4,500 lawyers in the Patiala House Courts. There are about 50 courts and over 1,00,000 pending cases. The court complex consists of 30 court rooms and it has only two toilets that cater to the huge number of litigants, lawyers and others who come there.
Earlier, the Ministry of Urban Development had shortlisted two sites at Netaji Nagar and Rowse Avenue for construction of the new courts premises. Of these, the site at Rowse Avenue was found most suitable for the project.
Referring to the plight of litigants, lawyers and their staff at the Patiala House court, Bar Association of Delhi member Murari Tiwari said the Government is “under obligation” to provide necessary infrastructure and facilities for all those who are a part of the legal system.
Patiala House was designed by Sir Edwin lutyens. The building has a central dome with a butterfly layout, similar to other buildings designed by the famous British architect. The Patiala House Court Complex is built in an area measuring 31, 872 square meters. The whole complex is divided into five parts that includes the Main Building, Publication Building, Annexe Building, lock-up Building & MEA Building.
Delhi High Court was run from here earlier till 1978. In March 1997 Patiala House was converted to become one of three court complexes in the city, after criminal courts from Parliament Street were
shifted here.
