A devastating fire at the main court complex in Gurgaon on Sunday has severely disrupted judicial operations, reducing the number of cases a court can hear daily from 50-100 to barely 10-15. Logistical challenges and the lack of access to servers and records have crippled court functioning, forcing hearings to be postponed to July as courts now operate from rooms in the PWD guesthouse, handling only urgent cases.
Impact on Ongoing Cases and Records
The fire damaged the Ahlmad rooms, destroying vital records. Lawyers warn that cases at the final stage of trial could face significant delays. Reconstructing these records poses a unique challenge, as parties involved in older cases may no longer be available. The judicial complex, built in 1975, has only made orders available online since 2014. Pre-2014 orders, preserved in physical form in the now-damaged records room, may be lost, affecting old cases and impairing references by lawyers and judges.
Advocate Mayank Raghav highlighted the difficulty: "Orders before 2014 are not available online. When we need any old order for reference, we exhibit it before the court after getting a copy from the record room. Now, how will such copies be sourced?" The fire began in the basement, first damaging the record room before spreading to 21 courtrooms and judges' retiring chambers.
Legal Provisions for Record Reconstruction
A court can issue notices to parties to submit available records. Advocate Manish Shandilya noted, "This provision will be used to reconstruct records, but it has limitations. For cases 30, 40, or 50 years old, parties and lawyers might not be available now." A temporary institution room has been set up inside the damaged complex for filing new cases, but only urgent matters like arrests, bail applications, and stay appeals are admitted, according to advocate Sunder Singh.
Scope of Damage and Court Operations
Gurgaon has 72 courts, including 10 sessions courts, a commercial court, a fast-track court for sexual assault cases, two family courts, two labour courts, and a juvenile court. Of these, 64 operate in Gurgaon city, while Sohna and Pataudi have four each. Only the labour court at mini-secretariat and the juvenile court at the agriculture department building were unaffected by the fire.
Impact on Litigants
Litigants face both financial and emotional strain. Delays mean more visits, adjournments, and higher legal costs. Criminal trials for serious offenses like murder, rape, narcotics, and sexual assault against children will be most affected. On average, 12,000 to 15,000 cases are filed monthly in Gurgaon, with 3.06 lakh cases pending, including 2.62 lakh criminal cases.
Retired district and sessions judge A K Raghav said, "Ultimately, litigants will suffer due to the fire. Whether due to lawyers' strike or fire, any disruption in court work impacts the litigant the most." He noted that setting up a temporary court in the PWD guesthouse ensures continuity. Judicial officers and staff work late to retrieve records from unaffected courts. "Efforts are being made to retrieve records from courts that were not affected by the fire," said a source involved in record transfer.
