MARGAO
After months of shut down for repairs, the hustle and bustle has finally returned back at the Margao Civil and Criminal Court building with the courts resuming their functioning from the heritage building on Monday.
Lawyers and litigants were all found in the corridors of the Court building even as the Judicial Magistrate took to the courtrooms to resume hearing of cases from the building from today. The bar room also came to life again after lawyers made their presence felt after months now.
The heritage building got a fresh lease of life after it underwent repairs and renovation by the PWD, building division at an estimated cost of Rs 60-odd lakh. The repair and renovation work includes replacement of the roof, rafters, tiles, etc besides internal painting of the building.
Courts operating from the heritage building had to be shifted to the South Goa District and Sessions Court building after the Civil and Criminal Court building witnessed water seepage during the last monsoons. The water leakage in the court rooms as well as the building corridor had prompted the city-based lawyers to stay away from the court for a day to draw the government’s attention to the sorry state of the heritage building for want of upkeep and maintenance.
After the lawyers boycotted the courts, Law Minister Nilesh Cabral, who also holds the PWD portfolio, rushed to Margao to calm down frayed tempers and to assure the legal fraternity to take up the building repairs on a war footing.
The issue had also come under the scanner of the High Court after the South Goa Advocates Association filed a petition highlighting the state of affairs of the Margao Civil and Criminal building. The High Court later set a time line for the PWD to carry out and complete the building repairs.
The heritage building was finally handed over to the court around mid-March last, paving the way for the return of the courts back to the building.
