Jammu, March 6 -- The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has directed the Chief Secretary of the Union Territory to constitute an independent inquiry into the circumstances under which a commercial building at Exchange Road in Jammu was declared unsafe. The court also quashed an order issued by the Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) seeking a fresh safety audit of the structure.

In a detailed judgment, Justice Wasim Sadiq Nargal held that the order issued by the JMC Commissioner on July 26, 2025 directing a new safety audit through a private empanelled firm was contrary to earlier court directions and therefore unsustainable in law.

The court was hearing a petition filed by seven shopkeepers who have been running businesses for sev...