In a dramatic courtroom exchange, the Bombay High Court pulled up the Goa government for locking up the old High Court buildings in Panaji’s Altinho area, popularly known as Lyceum. The Bench questioned the State’s authority to take such unilateral action, warning that no government department could “one fine morning” walk in and put its lock on court property. The matter, taken up urgently, revealed how governance, heritage, and judicial autonomy intersected in this dispute.
The case arose in a pending PIL filed by two advocates, represented by Advocate Joao Lobo, seeking preservation of the old High Court premises and its use as a mediation and arbitration centre. The judges took note of a September 3 communication from the registrar of the Goa Bench to the registrar general of the Bombay High Court, informing about the sealing of the Lyceum buildings.
Advocate General Devidas Pangam justified the government’s action by citing safety concerns, stating that Junta House, a Portuguese-era government building, was in a deteriorated condition, requiring urgent shifting of 20 government offices. He argued that the state had always intended to relocate these offices to the old premises after the new High Court complex was built in Porvorim.
The Bench, however, remained unconvinced. Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Aarti Sathe firmly noted that possession had not been handed over to the government. “You have no authority to visit the High Court and put the lock. This is a very, very serious matter,” the ACJ observed.
Although Pangam assured that the government did not intend to take over the main building where courtrooms and the mediation centre are located, the judges stressed that any transfer of possession was sub judice. They questioned under whose command officials had locked the premises and demanded production of all records.
Faced with the court’s warning of “coercive orders,” Pangam later informed that the locks would be removed the same evening. The court recorded this statement and adjourned the matter to September 17.
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