It’s time to go beyond “Attara Kacheri”constraints. Vertical construction or getting Bangalore Turf Club area for High Court, Karnataka State Bar Council, Advocates Academy and Advocates Association.
S.Basavaraj, Advocate and Member, Karnataka State Bar Council.
Karnataka High Court, the highest judicial institution of the State is crumbling for want of space. The principal bench building is suffering due to lack of space to meet some of the basic necessities such as Court halls, Judges’ chambers, offices and parking space.
The High Court building at Bangalore was once called Attara Kacheri. The name dates back to 1701 when Chikkadevaraja Wadiyar, fourteenth maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore (1673 to 1704), inspired by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb’s style of governance, created 18 administrative departments i.e. kacheris. The plans for the building began by 1830s but were stalled due to the First War of Indian Independence of 1857. The plans were revived in 1864 under Lewin Bentham Bowring, Commissioner of Mysore, and the offices were functional by 1868. It was built in Greco-Roman style by then Chief Engineer Richard Hieram Sankey. After governor general Lord William Bentinck’s consent, the construction was executed by British firm M/S Wallace & Company, which was sub-contracted to Rai Bahadur Arcot Narainswamy Mudaliar and RaiBahadur Bansilal Ramrathan. The structure, which was then known as ‘Bowring Attara Kacheri’, was completed at a cost of Rs. 4,27,980.
The original Attara Kacheri building consisted of only half of the existing building and with fewer wings. There was an annexe built on the north-east corner in 1917. The structure suffered its first demolition scare in early 1950s when former Chief Minister Kengal Hanumanthaiah wanted to build a legislative office with Indian-style architecture. The opposition for demolition eventually led to construction of Vidhana Soudha in 1956, right opposite the Attara Kacheri.
The High Court of the then State of Mysore was established in 1864 and was known as the Mysore High Court. In 1956, when the legislature was shifted to the bigger Vidhana Soudha, Mysore High Court occupied the entire Attara Kacheri building. In 1973, when the state’s name changed, the court was also renamed as ‘High Court of Karnataka’.
The second demolition scare in the 1980s was prevented by a public interest litigation by citizens.The court intervened and the building was saved from demolition.
The vision of the then Chief Justice P.C. Jain and positive response from the then Government resulted in construction of a new block facing Cubbon Park. The extension of entire building was made in 1995 that spanned across an area of 2,40,508 sq.ft, built in the same style of architecture. However, to maintain architectural integrity, the new building was built almost as an exact replica of the old building without much provision for many aspects such as required number of Court halls, Judges Chambers, Offices etc. Even the basic requirement of parking at basement level could not be made since the design of the new building was to synchronise with the old one almost in all aspects.
The Karnataka High Court is currently functional in Bangalore, Dharwad and Kalaburagi. The new benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi were inaugurated on 4 and 5 July 2008, respectively. Dharwad circuit bench became a permanent bench from 25 August 2013 and Kalaburagi circuit bench became a permanent bench from 31 August 2013.
While the benches at Dharwad and Kalaburagi are spacious enough to meet the requirement, the principal bench at Bangalore is facing severe space crisis.
Space Issue. The sanctioned strength of the Karnataka High Court is now 62. As of now 45 Judges are appointed. Few more judges are likely to be appointed soon. Even the strength of the High Court is likely to be increased. The numbers of court halls as of now are 38 and the judges’ chambers are 40 as against the immediate requirement of 45 each. The High Court, to be fully functional, must have 62 Court halls and same number of Judges Chambers. Presently, it is impossible to add even a single Judge’s chamber let alone a court hall. One hall is cannibalised into two court halls and Judges chambers are used by rotation.
Basement: About 60,000 sq.ft of area in basement is being used for various offices purposes. A publicinterest litigation is pending which questions usage of basement. If a decision were to be taken to vacate this area, the High Court needs another 60,000 sq.ft.
Advocates Association. Advocates Association at High Court is just two big halls which are not composite. One hall is in the old building and the other, in new building. A single composite block is absolutely necessary given the fact that AAB is one of the largest advocates associations in the world.
Karnataka State Bar Council. The Bar Council which was established in 1961 has been in search of ‘Promised Land’ for last more than 50 years. Hitherto KSBC occupied a portion of KGID building. Even now, it does not have a space of its own forget about a standalone building.
It was only in 2019 the old Election Commission building adjacent to KGID building was given to KSBC that too subject to condition that KSBC should shift when alternate accommodation is provided by the government. Being the premier most statutory body representing more than 1 lakh lawyers, KSBC must have its own building with chambers, offices and auditoriums.
Law Academy: There is no place for Academy to conduct its programmes. Even the Bar Council enrolments are being done in the premises of the existing building in a constrained atmosphere.
In contrast, the building opposite i.e Vidhana Soudhahas four floors above and one floor below ground level and sprawls across an area of 2,300 by 1,150 feet (700 m × 350 m). The building is rectangular in shape measuring 700 feet north-south and 350 feet east-west, with two inner open quadrangles on either side of the central wing measuring about 230 feet by 230 feet each. The northern wings with a ground and three upper floors is 63 feet 6 inches high, while the southern wing with a cellar floor, a ground floor, and three upper floors is 73 feet 6 inches high from the ground level. The Central Wing with a Banquet Hall on the ground floor and the Legislative Assembly Chamber above is 112 feet high. It is one of the largest Legislative buildings.
The space crunch led to construction of a replica i.eVikas Soudha. It was built to house numerous government and legislative offices which would in turn take away the load from the Vidhana Soudha. It was built over a land area of about 8 acres. The building comprises eight floors housing 15 conference halls and 360 rooms.
Future plan: High Court building facing Cubbon Park is a new building which can withstand many additional floors. As of now, only ground and first floor are constructed to synchronise with the old building. While Vidhana Soudha and Vikas Soudhacan boast of lavish spaces for almost everything, High Court building lacks built up area even for basic necessities.
The only option is to go vertical. The new building can easily withstand load of three-four more floors. Though architectural integrity is an issue, construction of identical three-four floors on top of new building with facelift of façade towards VidhanaSoudha will make the building a magnificent structure. This will solve the space problem to a great extent. It may be noted that by constructing additional floors, not an inch of land will be encroached since the building goes vertical. Moreover, the adjacent buildings, both Vidhanasoudha and Vikas Soudha have many floors without posing any problems. The present basement can also be used for parking of vehicles.
Alternates option – Bangalore Turf Club: The Karnataka State cabinet has already decided to shift Bangalore Turf Club. The entire land area is 85 acresand it belongs to Government. Shifting of Bangalore Turf Club is imminent. The entire area is available for a planned development with greenery ensured.
Since BTC area is 85 acres, half of this area or about 40 acres can be given to house High Court, Karnataka State Bar Council, Advocates Academy and Advocates Association – High Court branch. If the entire area is given to High Court High Court, Karnataka State Bar Council, Advocates Academy and Advocates Association High Court branch, the same can be converted into magnificent judicial layout housing even more institutions such Judicial Academy and other related offices.
The institution of judiciary has to be provided with own standalone buildings with sufficient space and infrastructure. It’s time to overcome constraints of Attara Kacheri with vertical construction or shift to Bangalore Turf Club area.
The High Court, Karnataka State Bar Council and Advocates Association have to work in coordination to achieve this mega dream. Given the present incumbents in all three institutions, I am sure the dream will be a reality soon.
S.Basavaraj, Advocate, Member, Karnataka State Bar Council, 11, Jeevan Buildings, Kumara Park East, Bangalore 560001.
Daksha Legal 