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Sindh High Court, Karachi

In the beginning it used to be called the Judicial Commissioner’s Court. Its construction commenced in 1923 at the time of the separation of Sindh from the Bombay Presidency. It was the first building of prominence to be built in the 200-acre Artillery Maidan quarter. The design was prepared in the office of the consulting architect to the government of Bombay and its architect, who led a proper team, was George Wittet. The other members of the team were A.J.A. Illingworth and Woods Hill. Wittet is the one who designed the beautiful Karachi Port Trust offices as well. The Judicial Commissioner’s Court was completed at a cost of Rs3.055 million and declared open on Nov 22, 1929 by the then Governor of Bombay, Frederick Hugh Sykes. Actually the area where it’s constructed, which was then called King’s Way, was supposed to be the then civic centre of the city, that is, all major public buildings were meant to be built here. Initially it was made for five judges, which was later expanded. In 1974 an annex building was constructed at a cost of Rs. 4.4 million to create more space but it didn’t improve the situation much.

The building has several interesting characteristics including ionic columns and rectilinear windows. One feature which is readily noticeable is that its ground level is pretty raised, making its staircase look striking.

Indeed, you have to shower profuse praise on George Wittet and his team for coming up with such an imposing model. It’s no surprise, though, for Wittet is the man who also architected pieces like the Gateway of India and the Prince of Wales Museum in Bombay (now Mumbai). Some say he, along with John Begg, was responsible for the popularity of Indo-Saracenic style in the subcontinent. Well, looking at the Sindh High Court and Karachi Port Trust gems, there is little evidence to doubt that.

[Source: Karachi Legacies of Empires by Peerzada Salman]