Early Times Report
Srinagar, May 20: The state High Court on Wednesday ordered the 'competent authority' to declare within three months the Saddar court complex in Srinagar as ancient monument. A division bench of the court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur also directed government to take steps for preserving the complex.
The directions by the bench followed perusal of the comments by the Registrar General who submitted that the complex was required to be protected and preserved in terms of Section 2(1) and 3 of the J&K Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1997 for future generation. The comments were sought by the government and as observed by the bench it were the only requirement for considering the prayer by lawyers' body as far as government was concerned. "In such circumstances, this petition is disposed of with the direction to competent authority to take decision within three months. The government to take steps for preservation of the complex," the division bench added. "It is pertinent to mention here that eminent Indian lawyers who appeared before the High Court (in the Saddar court) in various cases including Mohammad Ali Jinah, Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, Sir Mohammad Zaffer Ullah Khan, Abdul Qadir (Sialkot), Khan Bahadur Mian Mohammad Shafi (Lahore), Asif Ail, Anant Ram (Sialkot), Rai Bahadur Badri Dass, Dr. Mohammad Alam, Coltman, C K. Daftri, Solicitor General of India, Stelvad, former Attorney General, V. K. Krishna Menon, A. K. Palkiwala, A. N. Mulla, V.P. Gandhi, Ram Jethmalani and others," the Registrar said. The Registrar said that while the list was endless, the building witnessed the wit of the famous state lawyers including Mirza Afzal Beigh, P L Handoo, D D Thakur, Muzaffar Hussain Beigh and others.
"The legendary High Court judges who got elevated to the highest court of the country had worked in this historical building like Justice Murtaza Fazal Ali, Justice Raja Jaswant Singh, Justice A.S. Aanad. Justice T S Thakur and Justice R.P Sethi," the Registrar said. |
