Fire in HC record room

It took fire brigade officials nearly an hour to douse the flames. Though the actual reason is yet to be ascertained,sources said a short-circuit might have resulted in the fire that took place around 3.30 am.

Acting Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi has formed a three-member committee comprising Justices S K Mittal,Ranjit Singh and M M S Bedi to probe the incident and submit a report as early as possible.

The fire has gutted files pertaining to motor accident claims and revision petitions of civil and land acquisition cases.

“A majority of the damaged files pertain to cases pending in court. We will be able to retrieve the files,as at least three similar copies are with the petitioner,respondent and the offices of advocate generals concerned. Lawyers have been told to bring an additional copy of their civil revision petitions,” said a senior High Court officer.

Ruling out the possibility of any foul play,the officer added: “We do not suspect foul play as the record of criminal cases — which are more significant and sensitive — were not damaged. We believe the fire was caused by a short-circuit since the staff often prepare tea and heat up eatables in this room.”

Speaking to Newsline,a fire brigade official said: “Six fire tenders were dispatched as soon as we received a call around 3.45 am. Some computers have been damaged too.”

Till late in the evening,a number of judges monitored the shifting of files. The remaining were shifted by the court staff. Senior officials of UT Administration,including Home Secretary Ram Niwas,IG P K Srivastava,too,inspected the spot.

A similar incident had taken place in the old record room in 1998.