CHANDIGARH – In a scathing indictment of the state’s administrative failure, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has expressed “strong displeasure” and “astonishment” over the Punjab government’s inability to provide official residences for its judicial officers.
A division bench, led by Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sanjiv Berry, revealed a staggering statistic: approximately 60 percent of judges in Punjab are currently living in rented accommodations. This crisis is so acute that even District and Sessions Judges—the highest ranking judicial officers in their respective districts—are residing in private houses due to a lack of government infrastructure.
A Threat to Judicial Independence
The High Court framed the housing shortage not merely as a logistical failure, but as a direct threat to the independence and dignity of the judiciary.
The bench noted the precarious ethical position this creates for the officers of the law. During the proceedings, the judges remarked on the potential for “extreme awkwardness” should a judge’s landlord appear before them as a petitioner or a litigant.
To illustrate the severity of the privacy breach, the Court cited an instance in Mohali (SAS Nagar) where a judge was forced to live on the ground floor of a private residence while the landlord lived directly above on the first floor.
Decades of “Apathy”: 1995 to 2026
The Court scrutinized the “extraordinary delays” in land acquisition and construction that have spanned over three decades. The information presented before the bench painted a grim picture of bureaucratic inertia:
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Moga: The requirement for judicial housing was officially identified in 1995. However, it took the state 20 years just to acquire the land (2015), and construction remains incomplete.
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SAS Nagar (Mohali): Land allocation for judicial officers faced a stalemate for nearly 20 years despite the city’s rapid urban expansion.
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Pathankot: A major site identified for housing was later discovered to be protected forest land, stalling the process indefinitely.
High Court Demands Accountability
Acknowledging that it is impossible to fix every district simultaneously, the Court has opted for a phased approach. It has directed the Punjab government to focus immediately on Moga, Pathankot, and SAS Nagar.
Key Directives Issued:
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Affidavit from Chief Secretary: The Chief Secretary of Punjab has been ordered to file a detailed affidavit explaining the specific reasons behind these decade-long delays.
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Updated Status Report: The government must provide a comprehensive update on the current stage of construction and land acquisition for the three priority districts.
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Judicial Infrastructure Check: The Court is seeking a roadmap to ensure that judicial officers are provided with housing that matches the dignity of their office.
“The situation is deeply concerning,” the Court observed, signalling that the state’s top bureaucracy will now be held directly responsible for the lack of “roofs over the heads” of the state’s legal arbiters.
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