Bombay High Court passes injunction order on 44 acre land at Bandra

Bombay High Court passes injunction order on 44 acre land at Bandra
Photo: BCCL
The Bombay High Court has injuncted the State Government from taking any decision about 44 acres of land at Bandra East till it takes a decision on a new High Court complex on that parcel of land, observing that the government was “essentially denying justice to litigants” by delaying the decision.

A division bench of Justices AS Oka and MS Sonak, in a 60-page judgment on Tuesday, also criticised the government for linking the construction cost of the new HC complex with income from land sale, calling the approach as “fundamentally wrong”.

The 44 acre land parcel on which the HC bench has passed an injunction order, includes close to 15 acres which the government had initially offered and close to 29 acres which the government had earmarked for sale. The HC has directed the government to take a decision on the issue within six months, and while doing so, it needs to consider if the entire 44 acre area can be allotted for the new HC complex. The injuction of the 44 acre land parcel will apply for three months after the government submits its proposal to HC Administration.

The bench said that delay in the decision-making process was forcing litigants and judicial staff to continue work from the current 138-year-old building, which has inadequate space.

The court gave the above directions while deciding a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by lawyer Ahmad Abdi that highlighted the need to shift the court premises to a new, more spacious building.

The bench noted that the current building was meant to house just around six to seven courts which it was instituted in 1878, and the HC was formed in 1862. However, now the institution has a sanctioned strength of 94 judges and, at any given time, there are around 35 judges serving in the 138-year old building.

The current building doesn't have adequate space for as many court rooms, chambers for the judges and lawyers, as well as for thousands of litigants who come each day, the order notes. It said that the state had not disputed the fact that the current building was inadequate to accommodate the above.

“Even the state is not disputing the fact that there is a need for more space. By continuing the functioning of the High Court from the current building, the state government is effectively denying access to justice to litigants,” the bench said.

The bench also observed that the government's last offer of allotting 50 acres of land at Pahadi, Goregaon suburb, was deemed inconvenient and not accessible by the bar associations of HC, as litigants not only from Mumbai city, but also from 11 other districts of the State as well as Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Diu and Daman had approach the HC at Mumbai.