SC orders Uttarakhand govt to grant land for new HC building

The Supreme Court expedited the Uttarakhand high court relocation to Nainital, directing land transfer within six weeks, overriding a referendum order.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday fast-tracked the process for shifting of the Uttarakhand high court building to a new location in Nainital district by directing the state government to transfer the land earmarked for the new building within six weeks.

The order came in a petition filed by the High Court Bar Association challenging a May 8, 2024 order passed by the high court that ordered a referendum among lawyers for shifting of the building from the present location at Mallital to Haldwani within the same district.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant set aside the May 2024 order and said, “The high court had no business to pass such an order on the judicial side. Such issues are to be dealt with on the administrative side.”

The HC judgment was stayed by the top court on May 24, 2024 but since the process for earmarking the land for the new high court complex was at an advanced stage, the high court moved an application before the top court to be joined as a party for passing necessary orders.

Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Uttarakhand government, informed the court that the Nainital district administration had in May this year offered three parcels of land in the Haldwani region for the proposed construction of high court building and allied facilities. Pursuant to this, the Full Court of the High Court has indicated its preference along with a requirement for 40 hectares of land.

Noting the sequence of events, the bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said, “We are informed that the state government has earmarked land for construction of the building. Let the said land be handed over to the high court not later than six weeks.”

The court indicated to the state to obtain all statutory clearances and to ensure the green cover of the surrounding area is preserved.

The Uttarakhand high court is currently situated in a heritage building built in the year 1900 which cannot be renovated. When it was established in 2000, there were not many cases to be dealt with. However, with time, the volume of cases increased from a mere 356 to 61,859 (as on July 2, 2026). Last year, the high court even wrote to the Centre to increase the current sanctioned strength of judges from 11 to 21.

As per the UP Reorganisation Act, 2000, the principal seat of the high court of Uttarakhand is notified by the President of India. However, any decision for the judges to sit at any other place in the state is to be decided by the chief justice, with the approval of the state governor.

Citing this, the state had objected to the May 2024 order passed by the HC which bypassed the governor’s approval by ordering a referendum.

The decision to shift the present HC building to a new location within Nainital district was in contemplation in 2022. In September 2022, the state proposed a land parcel for this purpose which was approved by the Full Court resolution the same year. In November 2022, the state government gave its consent to the proposal. However, the said land measured only 26 hectares and became subject matter of a legal proceeding in the high court pursuant to which the proposal was reworked.