HC slaps Rs 10L fine on HP govt over ‘hollow promises’ on judicial infra

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh high court has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh on the state govt, criticising it for making "hollow promises" regarding the provision of adequate judicial infrastructure, a constitutional obligation of the state. The amount has been directed to be deposited in the high court registry.A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Jiya Lal Bhardwaj expressed serious dissatisfaction over the lack of tangible progress, warning that failure to take proactive steps before the next hearing on May 4 could invite further harsh orders. The court noted that despite repeated directions, the state failed to move beyond assurances. The order came during the court appearance of additional chief secretary (home) Kamlesh Kumar Pant and principal secretary (finance) Devesh Kumar. The state govt, however, cited financial constraints and sought rationalisation of posts, but the court remained unconvinced. The bench observed that despite repeated communications from the Union ministry of law and justice urging the creation of special courts to address the growing pendency of cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, the state failed to act effectively. "The state, on the other hand, contends that it is taking active steps to eradicate such cases and to make Himachal Pradesh drug-free. It is, however, apparent that these assurances are hollow promises to remain unfulfilled, and no effective steps have been taken to enhance the infrastructure to deal with the increasing number of cases under the NDPS Act," remarked the court. It added that special courts could not be created without the requisite infrastructure and the state should not expect the rising population, increasing number of cases and proactive litigants to deal with the same infrastructure that was created 20 years ago. The also court directed the principal secretary (finance) to inform it of the percentage of budgetary provision that was made for the judiciary for the forthcoming year and what was the provision in the preceding year, and whether any enhancement had taken place or not. The bench further noted glaring inconsistencies in the state's approach. While a proposal for creating 34 courts had been pending, the govt indicated plans to establish only two civil judge courts in Bangana and Haroli subdivisions of Una district, where no demand had been raised by the courts. Meanwhile, key requirements, including the creation of three civil judge posts at Una headquarters and additional district judge posts at Hamirpur, Joginder Nagar and Nalagarh, remained unaddressed. Highlighting delays, the bench pointed out that nearly three months had passed since an affidavit in this regard was filed in January, yet no concrete steps had been taken despite regular Cabinet meetings. It also flagged partial approvals for essential resources such as vehicles and administrative staff, calling the response inadequate.