Bombay High Court questions odd-hour visit by official

The Bombay high court on Wednesday directed a government officer, who was to assess the situation of Nashik court and to see if any land could be granted to the court, to file his reply stating why he went to the Nashik court building at 8.30 am during the court vacations.

The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by the Nashik Bar Association and K.K. Ghuge demanding additional land for the Nashik court.

The representatives of the bar association along with Ghuge contested that the current court building which houses ten courtrooms is very congested and the basic facilities for litigants, lawyers and other staffs are not provided. Thus they had requested the court to allot some land so that the court could have more space.

The state government, which was to file a reply on Wednesday, had sent an officer to the court building to assess the condition of the court and to see what can be done. But the officer of the government went at an unusual time when the court was not functioning and hence the purpose of this visit could not be served.

This PIL was being heard by a division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice A.A. Sayed. The bench questioned the state’s lawyer as to what business the officer had in the court building at such an absurd time when no one was in the court. The court further directed the officer to file his reply stating his name and why he visited the court at such a time and what purpose did it serve.