The Maharashtra government is planning to grant thirty acres of land in the government's residential colony at Bandra (East) for the new Bombay High Court complex. According to a senior state government official, the decision was taken in a meeting between Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde held in the last week of August. Speaking to the Indian Express, Superintending Engineer, Public Works Department (PWD), Pramod Bangosavi said, “The state will be giving them a plot of 30 acres. Since the Bandra East Government Housing colony is close to the Mumbai airport, we can construct buildings only up to 70 metres (high). The entire high court will shift here. The costs are yet to be worked out.’’ Sources in the government said that the handover would be a part of the Bandra government colony makeover, adding the land adjoining the Western Express Highway would be kept for the HC. The Government Housing colony in Bandra (East) was first developed in 1955. On September 10, Justice Abhay S Oka, Supreme Court judge and former judge of the Bombay HC, during an event to felicitate CJI UU Lalit, had told CM Shinde that instead of honouring the country's topmost judge with bouquets and mementos, Maharashtra government should allocate land for the new Bombay HC complex, remarking that that would be CJI Lalit's “actual felicitation”. Justice Oka had also said that the state government should invite CJI Lalit for bhoomi poojan of the land before his tenure ends on November 8. In response, Shinde, who was present at the event, had said that meetings have been held in this regard and assured that a decision would be taken soon for allotting a land parcel for the court. In December 2018, the state government had presented a proposal to the Bombay HC to build a new high court complex at Bandra (East). In May last year, the then Chief Justice of India (CJI) S A Bobde, who was a Bombay HC judge before being elevated to apex court, while speaking during inauguration of new building of Goa bench of HC in Panjim, had also said that the principal seat of the High Court in Mumbai was in urgent need of a bigger and better building. The current heritage premises was insufficient to meet the increasing needs of the HC, he had said. The principal seat of the Bombay High Court, located between Flora Fountain and Churchgate in a Gothic-style stone building, was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 2018. The work for the present building of HC had begun in April 1871 and was completed in November 1878. Over the last few years, a few options for the HC building were being raised and considered, one of them being that the High Court should be allotted land within a 3 km to 5 km radius of the existing building. In August last year, the HC had told the state government that in view of a space crunch on its existing premises, it would require additional space nearby for the construction of an integrated court complex, and had suggested that land belonging to Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) would be ideal for the expansion. However, sources claimed that the Port Trust land had become a “non-starter” as an exorbitant demand was made by the Central government before the state government in lieu of giving away that piece of land. Another alternative proposed by the lawyers' associations was to refurbish or reconstruct the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) and MTNL Building, which are situated in front of the present HC building and are half-empty. This way, the present building could also remain and the new buildings could be accessible right across the road, they reasoned. The demand was made that while the central government was giving said buildings on leave and license basis, if they are given to HC, there may not be a need to find alternate places elsewhere. Moreover, certain demands were made to redevelop part of present HC premises with due permissions from authorities including heritage bodies. The government had earlier suggested that 75 to 100 acres was readily available in Pahadi village of Goregaon in western area of Mumbai, free from encumbrances and encroachment, accessible to the public from two Metro stations. A senior official of the HC said that the decision on land for the new HC building at Bandra (East) is expected to be announced by the government soon. A senior advocate pratising at the HC said, “The issue of the new HC building has been under consideration for almost a decade now. The Bombay High Court surely needs a fully modern new building like HCs across the country and Supreme Court's additional complex. The present building was constructed to accommodate seven courts, which houses over 40 judges at present.” The advocate added: “However, the new complex should live up to the prestige that one of the oldest high courts in the country holds and also cater to the needs of the lawyers and litigants. The present heritage building can still house some of the courts even after the new building comes into existence and the historical structure can retain its glory.” He added, “However, if the proposed government land at Bandra (East) is not made available in time. If it is going to be delayed for an indefinite time, the option of handing over the CTO and MTNL buildings should be considered by the central government. Ideally, the government should have made available at least fifty acres of land to have a judicial complex with all judicial and central government tribunals along with the HC on the same premises.”
