History
The Sonipat area was a part of Delhi District up to 1912. It was included in Rohtak District in September, 1912. Gohana Tehsil remained a part of Rohtak District till the formation of Sonipat as separate District on 22.12.1972.
The first Judicial Court started functioning at Sonipat on 15.5.1959. Shri Surjeet Singh Raikhy was posted as first Sub. Judge First Class at Kot Mohalla, Sonipat. In the beginning, there was only one Court. Shri I.P. Vashishth was posted as first Senior Sub Judge in this District on 29.3.1973.
The Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate was separately established on 13.5.1975 with Shri R.S. Bhatia as the first Chief Judicial Magistrate, Sonipat. Shri V.K. Kaushal joined as first Additional District & Sessions Judge, Sonipat, on 18.10.1973.
Sonipat District was declared as Sessions Division by the Hon’ble High Court, vide Haryana Govt. Notification No. 3/1/78JJ(4) dated 19th May, 1983 and Shri I.M. Malik was appointed as the first District & Sessions Judge at Sonipat, who joined on 8th June, 1983.
The Judicial Courts shifted in the present new Judicial Complex-cum-Mini Secretariat, in the year 1977 and prior to that the Judicial Courts were functioning in the Old Tehsil building. From initial strength of about 65 lawyers at the creation of the District, presently a large number of advocates are enrolled as members at District Bar Association, Sonipat.
At present, Sonipat Sessions Division has its three Sub-Divisions, Gohana, Ganaur and Kharkhoda. Previously Gohana was a Tehsil and it was upgraded as Sub-Division on 12.04.1965. As per office record, Sh. S.B. Ahuja joined as SJIC/JMIC after separation of Judiciary in 1964. Sh. M.L. Singhal appointed as JMIC at Gohana on 28.04.1964. As far as Ganaur Sub-Division is concerned, the first Judicial Court started functioning w.e.f. 17.09.2001 and Sh. Sudhir Jiwan was appointed as first Judicial Officer at Ganaur. At Kharkhoda sub-Division, the first Judicial Court started functioning w.e.f. 27.04.2015 and Dr. Kavita Kamboj was apointed as first Judicial Officer at Kharkhoda. The Court at Kharkhoda is functioning in the building of Tehsil.
District Profile
The ancient name of Sonipat was Sonaprastha and the historical source finds its origin since the time of Mahabharta. Some hold that Sonipat town was founded by Raja Soni 13th, a descendent of Arjuna of Mahabharta fame, who named it after himself whereas others associate it with Swarnaprastha of the Mahabharta times. Sonipat is a town of great antiquity and was founded apparently by the early Aryans settlers. Popular tradition accepted as true by General Cunningham identified it as one of the five Pats, mentioned in the Mahabharta as demanded by Yudhishthra from Duryodhana as the price of peace.
The present Sonipat was a part of two districts before 1912. It was part of Delhi District up to 1912 and was included in Rohtak District in September, 1912. Gohana Tehsil remained a part of Rohtak District till the formation of Sonipat as separate District on December 22, 1972. Sh. M.D. Asthana was the first Deputy Commissioner of Sonipat District.
Sonipat town is situated 51 kilometers away from Delhi on Delhi-Ambala railway track. The famous Yamuna river is quite near from the District headquarter. Sonipat is famous for Atlas Cycle Industries Limited. This firm was established in the year 1952 with a capital investment of Rs. 1.30 crores and the bicycles manufactured here are exported to various countries of the world.
Sonipat is also famous and an important place for education. Some schools are very old and prestigious such as S.M. Hindu High School which was established in the year 1914. Motilal Nehru School of Sports at Rai is the only school in Haryana for sports activities. There are many colleges at present in this District and some of them are Hindu College, C.R.A. College, Geeta Vidya Mandir Girls College and Hindu Girls College. There are some good engineering colleges such as Din Bandhu Sir Chhotu Ram Engineering College and Bhagwan Mahavir Institute of Education and Training. There are two Universities also in Sonipat District. The first is Din Bandhu Sir Chhotu Ram University of Science and technology, Murthal, situated 5 kilometers away from Sonipat and the other one is Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila University of Education at Khanpur Kalan which is 35 kilometers away from District headquarter, Sonipat. It is the first University in India for girls only.
At present, the construction is on for the first education city i.e. Rajiv Gandhi Education City in Rai which is merely 12 kilometers away from Sonipat headquarter. Another asset of District Sonipat is O.P. Jindal Global University where students from various parts of the world can take education in different streams. Also famous for its temples, Sonipat City has a temple in virtually every street. Some of the famous and ancient temples in Sonipat include the Mahavir Jain Temple on Mission Road, Sonipat, the Atlas Temple and the Shambhu Dayal Temple which has a large sculpture of Lord Shiva, the Baba Dhaam Mandir, the Shani Dev Mandir, the Geeta Vidya Mandir, the Prachin Hanuman Mandir on Gohana road and Sai Dhaam, near I.T.I. Chowk, Sonipat. A historical Tomb of Khizarat Hayat Khan is another landmark in this City. The ancient and holy Gurudwaras and Mosques add to the beauty of city Sonipat and as such Sonipat is aptly remarked as the land of temples and schools. There are 347 villages in all within the jurisdiction of District Sonipat, at present.