Nagpur: Bombay high court’s Nagpur bench has ordered a comprehensive structural audit of the historic old High Court building in Civil Lines after a portion of its rear section collapsed on Monday. The court has appointed geotechnical engineer Amol Shingare to carry out the inspection and submit a report within four weeks to assess the building’s structural safety and prevent a recurrence.Taking suo motu cognisance of the deteriorating condition of the heritage structure, the high court had registered a public interest litigation. A division bench of Justices Anil Kilor and Rajnish Vyas heard the matter on Wednesday.The public works department (PWD) had earlier agreed to take responsibility for the conservation of the historic building. However, since the structure is a protected monument, Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had stipulated that all conservation work must be carried out under its supervision. Accepting the condition, the high court had directed the two departments to hold a joint meeting to ensure coordination.During Monday’s hearing, the state govt informed the court about the collapse of a portion of the building’s rear section and submitted photographs of the damage. Taking note of the incident, the court had directed an inspection of all the walls to ascertain their condition and establish the cause of the collapse.On Wednesday, the bench went a step further and ordered a structural audit of the entire building, entrusting the task to Shingare. The four-week deadline is intended to provide an assessment of the structure’s overall safety and identify areas requiring urgent intervention.The matter was argued by advocate Mugdha Chandurkar for the union govt, advocate Deepak Thakre for the state and advocate Sudhir Puranik for Nagpur Municipal Corporation.
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