Court left ‘powerless’ due to electricity breakdown

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has lost electricity supply after a minor explosion due to technical fault.

Lawyers were seen making remarks like, 'courts are powerless' and 'there is darkness in the courtrooms' besides the oft repeated lines 'we have been left in the dark' and 'let there be light' as they stepped out in open spaces of the British era Sindh High Court building where a technical fault disrupted power supply.

Due to power outage, judicial affairs came to a standstill. Courtrooms and High Court offices were plunged into darkness. The building constructed in 1929 was designed to be airy and well-ventilated with lots of sunshine coming through huge windows. However, over the century with the advent of air-conditioning, the windows were sealed with wooden panels and roofs brought lower with the help of false-ceilings.

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According to the SHC building administration, the power system broke down around 8am in the morning. Due to technical glitches, the automated system also sat down and the generator system could not run. It became difficult to conduct court proceedings in the dark. Most judges were hearing cases in their chambers.

Due to the power outage, the affairs in the identity branch also came to a standstill. No new case could be filed due to system shutdown.

The litigants and lawyers faced problems due to disruption in court proceedings. There was a rush of lawyers outside the identity branch. According to the spokesman, the power supply of Sindh High Court was affected due to a fault in the substation. Regional teams worked to correct the fault.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 19^th, 2022.