Panaji: In the petition seeking installation of air conditioners in trial courts in Mapusa, the Bombay high court on Tuesday granted the govt two weeks to file a status report indicating the work progress and the timeline within which ACs will be installed.The court stated that summers are approaching and observed that, despite administrative approval, floating of the tender, and selection of an agency to execute the work, financial concurrence is awaited, due to which, the work cannot progress.The division bench comprising justices Suman Sham and Amit Jamsandekar stated that if no concrete steps are visible by the next date, the HC will consider consequential orders and direct the officers responsible to remain personally present in the HC to answer queries.The Mapusa Bar Association, represented by Adv Jatin Ramaya, sought installation of the air conditioning, stating that it is impossible to work in the summer months when heat and humidity levels are at their peak. The association submitted to the HC that the building presently housing the courts is an old structure which was not designed to withstand such climatic conditions. Air conditioning is not a matter of luxury but of dire necessity, they stated.The association submitted to the court that the issue of air conditioning was pending for a long time and should have been resolved. The HC in Oct 2023 directed that the process be expedited.The association stated that court complexes across the state were already provided with air conditioning facilities, thereby demonstrating both the pressing need for such measures and the willingness and ability of the state to undertake them.
