Come rain or shine, people have to wait outside, for hours sometimes, for their turn to be summoned before a judge, at the Thimphu District Court. There is no place to sit while they wait for their turn. Thimphu District Court, on an average, handles 40-50 cases daily, the highest in the country.
“Our works do not get done immediately. We have to wait outside. We sometimes fall sick due to heat,” said one of those pursuing a case with the district court.
Some of them said there is no place to sit.
But, there is no enough space at all, not even for those working in the court. The present infrastructure used to be residence for government officials.
“In Thimphu court, a bench has 15 -16 staff. There are six benches, which mean there is about 70 people working in the court. So, including the things needed for their work, there is no enough space. Leave alone the visitors, the space is not enough even for the staff,” said the Supreme Court’s Registrar General, Tshering Dorji.
The Registrar General said they initially had plans to construct a new structure for Thimphu Court from the Nu 300 M allocated for Judiciary in the 11th Five Year Plan.
However, it was de-prioritized by the government in September last year.
Tshering Dorji said the construction of courts in Paro and Thimphu was included in 11th Five Year Plan.
“Of the two, we prioritized the construction of Thimphu Court. Work plan and drawings were almost done and we had decided to start the construction from 2014 and complete by 2017. However Government de-prioritized the court construction”
