Division Bench Fumes Over Power Failure In High Court’s Srinagar Wing

SRINAGAR: The High Court of J&K and Ladakh on Monday came down heavily on government over power and heating system failure in its Srinagar wing and directed Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir to take measures immediately to get rid of the “pathetic and unbelievable” condition in the highest court which is common to J&K and Ladakh union territories.

“During Court hours, the High Court has suffered a complete power failure. The generator is also not working. There are no lights. The air heating unit (AHU) is also not functional,” a Division Bench of Justice Atul Sreedharan and

Justice Moksha Khajuria Kazmi observed during the hearing of a case.

“It is pathetic and unbelievable that this is the condition of the Srinagar Wing of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh,” the Bench said.

The power failure took place at about 09:45 a.m. and was still not restored until about 11.28 a.m. when the court passed the order.

“The matter has gone from bad to worse. There is a permanent solution that is required,” the court said, adding, “This Court requests the Chief Secretary of the Union Territory (of J&K) to pass necessary orders to solve this problem forthwith.”

The solution, the court said, may vary from having a separate power line to the High Court which does not experience any downtime and also supported by generators of such capacity which can power the entire High Court and also the air heating unit without interruption in the event of the dedicated power supply to the High Court fails.

The court has listed the matter again on Wednesday “at the top of the list for further orders.”

The power and heating supply failure aggravated amid intense wintry conditions prevailing in Jammu and Kashmir. While plains in Kashmir received rains, Kashmir’s higher reaches are experiencing snowfall, bringing mercury down.