On May 24, 2023, the current President of India, Droupadi Murmu, will inaugurate India’s largest high court campus in terms of area at Dhurwa in Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand.
The tender for the new high court complex, sprawling 165 acres, was floated on February 25, 2015, with a 30-month deadline (2017). However, after a long delay, the structure will be finally inaugurated on May 24, 2023.
According to a senior official in the Jharkhand building construction department, “In terms of area, it is larger than any of the High Courts In India and even larger than the Supreme Court of India (22 acres). The building has been built at a cost of Rs 550 crore, and 500 CCTV cameras have been installed. In all, 1200 advocates will sit in two halls with separate 540 chambers and advocate general building separately,”
It has a library built in 30,000 square feet, along with parking arrangements for 2000 vehicles, and 25 grand air-conditioned courtrooms have been set up for hearing cases. The library has more than five lakh legal books for judges and other judicial officers to sit and study.
Three blocks have been made in the high court building on about 68 acres. The judicial block has two floors. Of these, 13 courts including the Chief Justice Court have been constructed on the first floor while two were built on the second floor.
There is a separate chamber for typists. Apart from this, barracks and garrisons are set up for 70 policemen. The advocates’ general office has been created separately. There will be a chamber of the advocate general, four additional advocate generals and a chamber for 95 government advocates.
A conference hall has also been made to seat 30 people. The total construction area of the new high court building is around 68 acres which includes parking, a courtroom, an advocate hall, a registry building, and other arrangements.
A total of 4,436 saplings have been planted to keep the campus green. A post office, dispensary, railway booking counter and a creche have also been constructed in the complex. The camp will be lit by solar energy, About 60 per cent of the power supply will be from solar energy only. For this, a 2000 KW power plant has been set up in the parking area.
Other 2000KV generators have been installed to provide power backup, including one 1500KV and two generators of 500KV each.
The Jharkhand State Bar Council chairperson, Rajendra Krishna, said, “It is the largest in the country and is a pride for the people of Jharkhand. It is a well-equipped high court for lawyers, judges, and litigants. We hope that justice is given from the new high court at the earliest so that the public money does not go in vain.”
