New HC Complex: SC orders state to handover 9.64 acres by Sep 1

A special bench comprising chief justice Dhananjay Chandrachud and justices Bhushan Gavai and Pardiwala issued the directive in view of a recent statement by Maharashtra advocate general Dr Birendra Saraf, who said the first tranche of 9.64 acres would be made available by December-end and an additional 13.75 acres would be made available by March 2025

MUMBAI: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the state government to speed up allocation of a 30.16-acre plot in Bandra to the Bombay high court administration for the construction of a new court complex. The apex court asked the government to hand over the first trance of land, measuring 9.64 acres, to the high court by September 1, so that construction could begin at the earliest.

Mumbai, India - May 8, 2024: A top view of the Government Colony at Bandre in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, May 8, 2024. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

A special bench comprising chief justice Dhananjay Chandrachud and justices Bhushan Gavai and Pardiwala issued the directive in view of a recent statement by Maharashtra advocate general Dr Birendra Saraf, who said the first tranche of 9.64 acres would be made available by December-end and an additional 13.75 acres would be made available by March 2025.

The bench also directed the chief justice of Bombay high court to speed up the process of finalising drawings and designs for the new complex. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed the court that the state government had given three options in this regard, among which the building committee of the high court had chosen the option of seeking design suggestions from four or five renowned architects and finalising one of them.

The special bench was hearing a suo-motu petition based on a letter to the chief justice of India written jointly by the Bombay Bar Association, the Advocates Association of Western India and the Bombay Incorporated Law Society. The letter claimed that the state government was not taking any concrete steps to hand over the 30.16-acre plot in Bandra Government Colony to the high court.

The lawyers’ bodies said it was imperative that the land at Bandra be cleared at the earliest, a plan for construction of the new complex be finalised and actual work be commenced at the site. They also intimated the chief justice that while the new complex was not likely to be ready before 2-3 years, the existing high court building was “old and overburdened” and needed repairs/ renovation urgently. They suggested that non-live departments of the court be shifted in the interim to vacant spaces in nearby government buildings.

In this regard, solicitor general Tushar Mehta informed the apex court that additional area measuring 38,000 square feet had been made available to the high court on a leave and license basis. It included 18,000 square feet in the Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited building, 8,000 square feet in the Central Telegraph Office and 12,000 square feet in the Bank of India building.

The associations wrote to the chief justice around a fortnight after the high court on April 12 asked the state government to explore possibility of utilising land in Goregaon for the new court complex. The apex court has, however, discarded the idea of constructing the new complex in Goregaon, observing that it was an unsuitable location.