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Former judge, others flay the design for new high court building, say litigants will suffer

Speaking during an exhibition and discussion of the Architectural Competition Proposals for the new high court building on Tuesday, former judge Justice Gautam Patel deemed the new design 'hostile where the litigants will suffer'.

3 min readMumbaiDec 2, 2025 10:38 PM IST

Former judge Justice Gautam Patel deemed the new design 'hostile where the litigants will suffer'. (File Photo)

A month after the foundation stone for the new Bombay High Court building was laid in Bandra, the design for the building has drawn flak from city-based architects, lawyers and stakeholders with former Bombay High Court judge Justice Gautam Patel calling the new design ‘fundamentally undemocratic’ and ‘hostile’ where litigants will suffer.

With current heritage premises in South Mumbai’s Fort area proving insufficient in meeting the increasing needs of the HC, the Public Works Department on October 31 issued a tender notice for construction of ‘New Integrated High Court Complex’ at Bandra Government Colony area. Following a competition which saw entries from renowned architects, the PWD selected designs made by architect Hafeez Contractor, which proposes the new HC complex sprawling an area more than 50 lakh square feet and will have 75 advanced courtrooms with four-and-a-half metre-wide corridors and Chief Justice’s large courtroom will be beneath the main dome.

However, architects, urban designs as well as other stakeholders like lawyers have aired concerns over the winning design as well as the brief prepared by the PWD.

Speaking during an exhibition and discussion of the Architectural Competition Proposals for the new high court building on Tuesday, former judge Justice Gautam Patel deemed the new design ‘hostile where the litigants will suffer’.

“Not even a token nod was given to the importance of the litigant and the citizen in the development of this building. This is a monument. It is not an efficient building, not climate resilient and it also does not address the issue of the old building.”

He said, “The litigant should be at the top while the lawyers and the judges should come later as, ultimately, they are there for the litigant. However, what has happened in this design is an inversion of the pyramid.”

Calling for an alternative design, Patel added, “You need accessibility for litigants. For instance, at present, the Bombay High Court has a peculiar place where the litigant has no space to wait. Further, the design should incorporate space for the litigant to wait for the lawyer. Another aspect of the court design is that you cannot have vast distances.”

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“Ideally, the courtroom should have quiet, a certain type of lighting, line of sight, as much natural light as possible as well as accessibility for litigants,” said former judge Patel.

Mustansir Dalvi, former professor at the JJ School of Art and Architecture said, “While grand staircases may create shock and awe, they are not disabled friendly or litigant friendly. Such elements are provided to create drama and a certain image of grandeur and aristocracy.”

Meanwhile, former judge Patel also flagged concerns over the possible neglect and deterioration of the current high court building while offering suggestions for its use for arbitrations and meditations, digitising centres etc.

The discussion, organised by Mumbai Architects Collective on Tuesday, comes along the heels of Chief Justice of India Bhushan R Gavai in November stating that there should be “no extravagance” at the new Bombay High Court building as “judges are no more feudal lords”.