After various extended deadlines our High Court building at Porvorim is finally almost ready. It is expected that from June 2020 Goa’s highest Temple of Justice will start functioning from the new premises. Instead of being just another concrete structure it would have been so nice if the new High Court building could have reflected the facets of Goan architecture. It could have symbolically established the continuity of the old buildings where our High court began its working, first from the old Judicial commissioner’s Court in the city and then to the old Lyceum complex at Althinho. The legacy of Goa’s rich history in field of Judicial and legal services should have been placed in a better context for posterity.
With the construction of the complex for Panaji’s lower courts at Merces dragging while the government is paying through the nose for those four floors housing the lower courts at Patto Plaza, it would be prudent to shift all the lower Courts to the three High Court buildings at Althinho which would be vacant soon. There would also be enough space there to accommodate the Administrative Tribunal, State Consumer Redressal Commission and the Labour Courts. It would make more efficient and facilitate the administration of justice besides ending the criminal waste of public funds by way of huge rentals being paid for the premises currently housing these Courts.
