Gurgaon: From 50-100 cases on a normal day, the number of cases a court can hear has come down to barely 10-15 as logistical challenges and practical problems of not having access to servers and records cripple judicial work in the city after Sunday’s fire severely damaged the main court complex.Hearings scheduled in ongoing cases are being pushed to dates in July as the courts, now functioning from rooms in the PWD guesthouse, take up only urgent cases. Destruction of records in the fire, which damaged Ahlmad rooms, are also likely to delay cases that are at final stage of trial, lawyers said on Thursday. Reconstruction of records would be different challenge altogether as parties involved in old cases might not be available, according to these lawyers.The judicial complex in the old city was constructed in 1975 and orders are available online only from 2014. Pre-2014 orders do not have digital records and were preserved in physical form in records room that the fire has damaged. The current state of these records isn’t known. If the fire has destroyed them, it will affect old cases as well as impair lawyers’ and judges’ ability to refer to them when needed.“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,” said advocate Mayank Raghav, wondering how such copies will now be sourced.The fire began in the basement and first damaged the record room before spreading to large parts of the complex and damaging 21 courtrooms as well as judges’ retiring chambers.A court can issue notice to parties involved and ask them to submit records available with them. “This provision will be used to reconstruct records. But it has its limitations. For cases which are 30, 40 or 50 years old, it is highly likely that parties and lawyers might not be available now,” said advocate Manish Shandilya.A temporary institution room has been set up inside the damaged court complex for filing of new cases after the fire, but only urgent matters are admitted. “Those like arrest of accused by police, bail application and stay appeals are being admitted,” said advocate Sunder Singh.Gurgaon has a total of 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 courts operate in Gurgaon city, while Sohna and Pataudi have four courts each. The labour court, which operates from mini-secretariat and the juvenile court, which is housed in the agriculture department building, are the only ones among city courts that are not touched by the fire.For litigants, the impact is both financial and emotional. Delays mean more visits, more adjournments and higher legal costs. Criminal trials in serious offences, including murder, rape, narcotics, and cases of sexual assault against children will feel the slowdown most acutely.On an average, 12,000 to 15,000 cases are filed in a month in Gurgaon. At present, 3.06 lakh cases are pending before courts in the city, of which 2.62 lakh are criminal cases.A K Raghav, retired district and sessions judge, said ultimately litigants will suffer due to the fire and subsequent damage. “Cases will linger on. Whether it is due to lawyers’ strike or fire, any disruption in court work impacts the litigant the most,” said Raghav. He said setting up of a temporary court in the PWD guesthouse has ensured continuity of judicial work.Judicial officers and supporting staff are working till late in the night to retrieve records from courtrooms. “Efforts are being made to retrieve records from courts that were not affected by the fire,” said a source engaged in transfer of records.
