Bench says a study should be conducted to ascertain what kind of land is required, convenience of litigants
The Maharashtra government told Bombay High Court on Wednesday that it should not be blamed alone for not allotting land for construction of a new high court building in the Mumbai suburbs.
Appearing for the state, senior advocate Anil Sakhare said, “When late Vilasrao Deshmkukh was the Chief Minister, a land measuring 50 acre in Bandra Kurla Complex, was offered to the high court administration. However, the offer was rejected then.”
He added that the government is not considering this as an adversarial litigation and if there is a need for a survey, the government and high court administration can do it together to identify a land parcel for constructing the new high court building.
The government had submitted a fresh proposal for allotting 25 acre of land in Pahadi, Goregaon West, to build the high court building, on Monday. This proposal was made as an alternative to the earlier offer of 15 acre land in Bandra East.
A division bench of Justice Abhay Oka and Justice MS Sonak said: “We cannot direct the government to allot a particular land for the high court building. However, we will need to take into consideration if the new building caters to the needs that may arise in the next 150 years. A study should be conducted to ascertain what kind of land is required, the convenience of litigants, and also consider the space given to high courts across India.
The high court administration submitted a proposal for 50 acre of land to construct the new court complex, while hearing a petition filed by advocate Ahmed Abidi. Presently, the High Court building is housed on a five-acre plot. With the increase in the number of litigation and daily foot fall of advocates, the facilities available to them are proving insufficient. Even for record storage and new chambers for judges, there is hardly any space.
The over 150-year-old Bombay High Court in Fort is scouting for a new address because the present grade-I heritage structure is not being able to accommodate the tremendous increase in litigants and strength of judges and advocates due to paucity of space.
SHIFTING LANDS
- Earlier, the state government has earmarked a 10-acre plot in Bandra to build a new High Court complex as the court’s existing building in south Mumbai struggles with a grave shortage of courtrooms and attendant space for staff
- The government on Monday submitted a fresh proposal for allotting around 25 acres of land for a new high court complex in Pahadi, Goregaon indicating Bandra would not be enough to create all the necessary infrastructure
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