Fear of collapse: Shifting of local courts from building sought

Survey reports cracks in existing premises following recent earthquake

ISLAMABAD: The capital administration has requested the interior ministry to shift the district and sessions courts from its present premises after appearance of cracks in the main building following the recent earthquake.  

The survey conducted on October 27 by the Islamabad administration’s engineering department revealed appearance of cracks in the main building that houses courts of senior judges.

On October 26, an earthquake of 7.5 magnitude struck Pakistan, Afghanistan affecting many private and government buildings in the capital.

A city administration official on anonymity request told The Express Tribune that Chief Commissioner Zulfikar Haider had requested the interior secretary to shift the district and sessions courts (east) situated in the 14-R block to an adjacent building as the existing building could pose a risk.

The official said that after the earthquake the engineering department conducted an inspection of all the buildings housing the courts in F-8 Markaz.

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) registrar had ordered the administration to conduct a survey of the buildings.

The survey found many cracks in the 14-R block, which could pose a risk to the lives of the judges and others using the building.

“The engineering department pointed out visible cracks in the building, which are beyond repair, and any untoward incident could take place in [the] future. Therefore, it is requested to shift the courts to its adjacent building,” said a letter sent to the ministry by the city administration.

The official said that cracks had also appeared in the retiring room of the judges.

He said that the administration also requested the ministry to cancel the lease agreement with the owner of the building.

The official said that the building was on rent and has been so for the past many years adding it was the responsibility of the owner to repair it.

“We have proposed another private building, which is adjacent to the existing building but we need funds to relocate and establish the courts there,” he said.

The official said that the administration had also requested the ministry to allocate Rs25 million for setting up of the courts in the new building, which would be hired on rent.

When asked, if the owner refused to rent out the building, the official said that then the administration will try to rent some other building.

The congested district courts have been a headache for the administration as lawyers have time and again refused to vacate the area. Many lawyers have set up makeshift illegal chambers there over the passage of time.

The IHC is currently housed in the judicial complex in G-10/1, a building meant for the city district courts. The building, in fact meant to house the IHC, is under construction in G-5.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2015.