The Bombay High Court’s chief justice and other judges were invited to a meeting by the Supreme Court on Wednesday in order to discuss the redevelopment of a PWD and the relocation of courtrooms and other facilities to buildings next to the current, iconic high court building in Mumbai. On September 23, India’s Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud dedicated the new Bombay High Court building in the Bandra neighbourhood of Mumbai.
The top court believes that some of the facilities should be moved to a PWD building next to the current high court premises until the new high court building at Bandra is completed. The top court is currently deliberating a suo motu case titled “Heritage Building of the Bombay High Court and allotment of additional lands for the High Court.”
The CJI, Justices B R Gavai and JB Pardiwala, and members of a special bench agreed that urgent repairs were also required for the high court’s annexe building, which still houses some courts and other services.
In addition, the top court requested that the state government investigate the possibility of giving the high court space to establish its arbitration and mediation centre in the south Mumbai Air India building. This matter was also brought up in the meeting between the chief secretary, the chief justice of the high court, and other judges.
The CJI stated that the government pleaders’ offices and the advocate general’s offices are located in the annexe building, and that it is now apparent that the structure requires immediate repairs. The bench also requested that the state government follow the schedule it set down for transferring ownership of the remaining Bandra land to be used for the construction of a new high court building.
Source: Legal World
