The long-pending repair work of the historic Old High Court building in Civil Lines may soon be handed over to the Public Works Department (PWD), after the Heritage Committee gave its no-objection to the proposal. The development came during a hearing before the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court on Tuesday. The court had asked the Heritage Committee whether it would agree to let the PWD handle the construction and repair work of the Old High Court building. In response, the committee informed the court that it has no objection to the move. Following this, the High Court directed the Chief Engineer of the PWD to file an affidavit before the next hearing, confirming whether the department is ready to take up the work. A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Raj Wakode noted that the repair work has been stalled for nearly nine years, raising serious concerns over the condition of the heritage structure. Earlier, the court had strongly criticised the Heritage Department, including the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), for delays in carrying out restoration work.

 

The court issued a clear warning that if the repairs are not completed by December 31, 2026, the entire project will be handed over to the PWD. The High Court had taken suo motu cognisance of the issue and registered a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), citing the deteriorating state of the Old High Court building. During earlier proceedings, the Archaeological Department had submitted that completing the repair work within six months was not possible due to delays caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

However, the court rejected this explanation, pointing out that the impact of the pandemic had reduced after early 2022, yet no significant progress was made in the following years. The court also directed the Committee to submit a detailed affidavit with a day-wise report of all work carried out on the building from 2017 till date. The next hearing is expected to bring clarity on whether the PWD will officially take charge of restoring the iconic building.