HC tells state to install ACs at district and subordinate courts by Feb 2026

Panaji: In a petition filed by North Goa court employees, the Bombay high court directed state govt to ensure that air conditioning facilities are introduced in the district, sessions and subordinate courts, as they are the ‘backbone’ of the courts’ functioning.The HC directed govt to ensure that air conditioning is made functional in various wings and workplaces occupied by the judicial and non-judicial staff of the district and sessions and subordinate courts within six months and, in any case, by the end of Feb 2026.The court directed govt to augment additional kV power if required, even if it incurs additional expenditure, as the employees are ultimately playing different roles and rendering assistance in the administration of justice.The court did not accept the excuse of govt of not being able to extend AC facilities to them due to a huge financial burden and because the defect liability period of the building will be over.Govt also expressed technical difficulty, stating that to provide air conditioning, the false ceiling will have to be broken open, light fixtures, smoke detectors, and speakers dismantled, and cutouts in the wall made for the passage of copper pipes and cables/wires, and that the defect liability period, which is otherwise binding on the contractor, will no longer bind the contractor.

“As we are conscious of a well-known saying that ‘where there is a will, there is a way’, we are of the view that the petitioners’ association deserves a similar treatment as the other class, who is instrumental in the courts’ functioning, i.e., judges and lawyers, and if they are extended the facility of air conditioning, we direct the state to treat the members of the petitioners’ association with parity and extend the benefits to them,” stated the division bench comprising Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita Mehta.The court held that there can be no discrimination between people working in the court complex and assisting the court in the administration of justice when it comes to infrastructural facilities, as a healthy work environment is bound to increase the efficiency of the employees.“It is also to be kept in mind that with the sweltering heat that the state suffers, particularly from the months of April to Aug, when the temperature nears 40 degrees, with the humidity on the rise, the working conditions become deplorable, and we cannot expect the staff to work in such conditions while the judges are provided multiple air conditioners,” the court held.The North Goa (non-gazetted) Judicial Court Employees Association, represented by Adv Jatin Ramaiya, an association of over 452 employees of the district and sessions court, North Goa, and subordinate courts, went to the HC stating that the technologically advanced new district and sessions court and subordinate courts building at Merces, a modern structure complex conceptualised as an infrastructural marvel, designed with world-class facilities, was built without making a provision for air conditioning in the area of their working places/offices.