District Bar Association, Gurugram

In the beginning of the twentieth century, the district formed part of Delhi Division. The Deputy Commissioner was subordinate to the Commissioner and Superintendent of the Delhi Division in revenue work and general administration and to the Divisional and Sessions Judge, Delhi, in respect of criminal work. The District Judge was subordinate to the Divisional Judge in all matters relating to the administration of civil law. In 1910, the District Judge was assisted by two Extra Assistant Commissioners, who were Munsifs of the first class, and by one Munsif stationed at Gurgaon. All Tehsildars were vested with the powers of a Munsif of the third class. There was an Honorary Munsif of the second class. One of the two Munsifs’ of the Delhi district had jurisdiction within the Ballabgarh Tehsil. Following the territorial and administrative changes in 1912 and upto 1950, the district was under the Hisar Sessions Division and the District & Sessions Judge, Hisar, used to visit Gurgaon for the disposal of Civil and Criminal work as an appellate court. In 1950, the district was transferred from Hisar Sessions Division to Karnal Sessions Division. Again, in 1955, it was transferred to Rohtak Sessions Division to which it remained attached upto October, 1966. On November 1, 1966, the district became a full-fledged Sessions Division. Shri H.D.Loomba, was posted as first District & Sessions Judge at Gurgaon on 01.11.1966. The Gurgaon district was among the five districts of the then Punjab State where the separation of judiciary from the executive was introduced in 1954 on an experimental basis. The experiment having proved a success, the system was extended to all the remaining districts of the State in 1964.

On account of separation of the judiciary from the executive, two kinds of courts came into existence under the Gurgaon Sessions Division i.e. Civil and Criminal. The District and Sessions Judge, Gurgaon held overall charge of the administration of justice, both Civil and Criminal in the district.’ He functioned under the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh and was assisted by one Additional District and Sessions Judge in the disposal of Civil and Criminal work. On the civil side, there were eleven courts of Subordinate Judges. Of these, one Senior Sub-Judge, two Sub-Judges Ist Class and three Sub-Judges III Class were located at Gurgaon, two Sub-Judges Ist Class and one Sub-Judge II Class at Ballabgarh and one Sub-Judge Ist Class and one Sub-Judge II Class at Palwal. On the criminal side, there were eleven courts of Judicial Magistrates. Of these, one Chief Judicial Magistrate, One Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, One Judicial Magistrate Ist Class and three Judicial Magistrates II Class were located at Gurgaon, three Judicial Magistrates Ist Class at Ballabgarh, and two Judicial Magistrates Ist Class at Palwal. All the Presiding Officers of the courts exercised civil and criminal powers simultaneously. The Senior Sub-Judge, Gurgaon, exercised the powers of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate. The court of Senior Sub Judge presided over by Shri Basant Lal Malhotra, was established at Gurgaon on 04.09.1959. The court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, presided over by Shri Hari Parkash, was established at Gurgaon on 01.04.1965. The Judicial Court started functioning at Ferozepur Jhirka on 01.05.1989. At that time the rank of the court was Sub Judge. One Additional court of Sub Judge, was established at Ferozepur Jhirka, in June, 1988. District Mewat with headquarter at Nuh was declared a separate district on 04.04.2005,Now Nuh has been declared as seprate Sessions Division w.e.f. July 2013.

The Judicial courts at Gurgaon, were shifted to the present building in the year 1975. Perior to that, the courts were functioning in the old Judicial Complex. However, the building of Old Judicial Complex at Gurgaon had no historic importance. Further, that building has since been demolished.