Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum is set to lay the foundation stone of Judicial Tower Phase-I on May 8. The project aims to house all district courts in Lahore under one roof.
The tower, a 17-storey building with three basement levels for parking, will feature courtrooms, administrative offices, lawyers’ chambers, an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) center, and a multi-story parking plaza.
Approximately 200 scattered courts across the city – including sessions, civil, family, and criminal courts – will be relocated to the new facility. This move is expected to streamline judicial operations, reduce delays in case hearings, and ease difficulties faced by litigants and lawyers.
The building will have multiple functional blocks, including court blocks, administrative sections, dedicated lawyers’ areas, record rooms, modern archives, security control rooms, and waiting areas for litigants. It will also feature modern elevators, a digital case management system, and enhanced security arrangements.
Separate parking zones for lawyers, judges, and visitors are planned, with capacity for hundreds of vehicles and motorcycles. Phase-I is estimated to cost Rs9.15 billion and will take two years to complete, starting on the site of the existing printing press. Upon completion, courts from Aiwan-e-Adl will move to the new tower, followed by Phase-II construction.
The project was initiated following directives from Chief Justice Neelum, who took office about two years ago after multiple requests from bar associations for centralized court facilities.