*Several judicial officials yet to be rescued, contacted
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Sept 12: With Chief Justice of State High Court, Justice M M Kumar writing to the Governor and the Chief Minister seeking their personal intervention, the Srinagar Wing of the High Court, which has suffered extensive damage and continued to remain flooded, is likely to become functional albeit in the alternate accommodation within next one week.
However, the restoration of working in the District Courts across the Kashmir valley will take time because of varied reasons. Moreover, several judicial officers and staff, who had faced horrendous scenes, could not be contacted till date although Principal District and Sessions Judges have not furnished any adverse report in their case.
Highly placed sources told EXCELSIOR that Chief Justice M M Kumar has written to the Governor, N N Vohra and Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah stressing the need for making arrangements on war footing basis in order to make Srinagar Wing of the High Court functional in an alternate accommodation keeping in view the massive damage suffered by the existing complex at Jehangir Chowk, Srinagar.
While seeking personal intervention of both Governor and Chief Minister, the Chief Justice has conveyed that justice cannot remain on holidays for a long period under any circumstances and High Court, which has an important role to play in delivery of justice, should not remain non-functional, sources informed.
Stating that Government is under the constitutional obligation to make High Court functional as early as possible, they said that High Court has identified Hari Niwas and Nehru Guest House as two feasible alternate accommodations for making its Srinagar wing functional.
“The Government has been asked to create at least four courts in any of these places as High Court Judges are ready to provide justice to the people even from a make shift arrangement”, sources said, adding “keeping in view the concern expressed by the Chief Justice, who even personally met the Governor as well as Chief Minister before leaving for Jammu, it is likely that High Court functioning would be restored in Srinagar within next one week”.
Disclosing that Srinagar Wing of the High Court would take only fresh cases till the record is retrieved from the main complex at Jehangir Chowk, they said, “the functioning of High Court is important especially when numerous issues would crop up in the aftermath of the natural calamity”.
According to the sources, Chief Justice, who is eye-witness to the horrendous tragedy, which ravaged major parts of the Kashmir valley, has even taken up the issue of making District Courts functional across the region. But the same would take time as focus has yet not been shifted out of the Srinagar.
“The foremost priority is to first assess the intensity of the damage to the infrastructure and the record, the exercise for which is yet to begin”, sources said, adding “despite repeated requests from the High Court, the civil administration in rest of the districts of Kashmir valley has yet not come forward in this regard”.
Moreover, several judicial officers posted in different districts of Kashmir valley could not be contacted till date although Principal District and Sessions Judges of respective districts have not furnished any adverse report about the judicial officers and staff till date.
“Even on this aspect the civil administration has completely failed as a result of which family members of several judicial officers and staff are scouring for the information about their well beings”, sources said while disclosing that Chief Justice has also brought this aspect to the notice of Governor and Chief Minister.
Follow our WhatsApp channel