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Bombay High Court

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The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (formerly known as Bombay), and is one of the oldest high courts in India.[1] The High Court has circuit benches at Nagpur and Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Porvorim,[1]

Bombay High Court
Map
18°55′52.26″N 72°49′49.66″E / 18.9311833°N 72.8304611°E / 18.9311833; 72.8304611
Established14 August 1862; 162 years ago (1862-08-14)
JurisdictionMaharashtra
Goa
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
LocationPrincipal Seat: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Circuit Benches: Nagpur, Aurangabad & Porvorim
Coordinates18°55′52.26″N 72°49′49.66″E / 18.9311833°N 72.8304611°E / 18.9311833; 72.8304611
Composition methodPresidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of respective state.
Authorised byConstitution of India
Judge term lengthMandatory retirement at age 62
Number of positions94
(71 permanent, 23 additional)
WebsiteOfficial website
Chief Justice
CurrentlyDevendra Kumar Upadhyaya
Since29 July 2023

The first Chief Justice, the Attorney General and the Solicitor General of Independent India were from this court. Since India's Independence, 22 judges from this court have been elevated to the Supreme Court and 8 have been appointed to the office of Chief Justice of India.[2]

The court has Original Jurisdiction in addition to its Appellate. Judgments issued by this court can be appealed only to the Supreme Court of India. The Bombay High Court has a sanctioned strength of 94 judges (71 permanent, 23 additional).[3] The building is part of The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai, which was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 2018.

As of 2022, the Court is currently understaffed, with only 57 judges as against the permitted number of 96 judges.[4]

History and premises

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The Bombay High Court was one of the three High Courts in India established at the Presidency Towns by Letters patent granted by Queen Victoria, bearing date 26 June 1862.[citation needed] It was inaugurated on 14 August 1862 under the High Courts Act, 1861.

 
Bombay High Court, Fort, Mumbai

The work on the present building of the High Court was commenced in April 1871 and completed in November 1878. It was designed by British engineer Col. James A. Fuller. The first sitting in this building was on 10 January 1879. Justice M. C. Chagla was the first Indian permanent Chief Justice of Bombay High Court after independence [1948 – 1958][5] Architecture: Gothic revival in the Early English style. It is 562 feet (171 m) long and 187 feet (57 m) wide. To the west of the central tower are two octagonal towers. The statues of Justice and Mercy are atop this building.

In 2016, it was announced that the premises of the Bombay High Court would be shifting to Bandra Kurla Complex.

The 125th anniversary of the building was marked by the release of a book, commissioned by the Bar Association, called "The Bombay High Court: The Story of the Building – 1878–2003" by local historians Rahul Mehrotra and Sharada Dwivedi.

Name of the court

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Although the name of the city was changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995, the Court as an institution did not follow suit and retained the name Bombay High Court. Although, a bill[6] to rename it as Mumbai High Court was approved by the Union Cabinet on 5 July 2016, along with the change of name of the Calcutta High Court and Madras High Court as Kolkata High Court and Chennai High Court respectively, the same is pending approval before the Parliament of India but may not be enacted for some time.[7][8]

Sesquicentennial celebrations

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In 2010, the High Court organized several functions to mark the completion of 150 years of the establishment of the High Court. A special postal cover was released by Milind Deora, the then Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology at the historical Central Court Hall of the High Court on 14 August 2012.[citation needed]

An exhibition displaying important artifacts, royal charters, stamps, old maps and other documents of historical importance was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, in the Central Court Hall on 15 August 2012. The then Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Chief Guest at the concluding ceremony of the year-long Sesquicentennial celebrations on 18 August 2012.[9]

A book titled A Heritage of Judging: The Bombay High Court through one hundred and fifty years, edited by Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, Anoop V. Mohta and Roshan S. Dalvi was published by the Maharashtra Judicial Academy.[10]

Famous cases

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In its illustrious history, the Bombay High Court has been the site for numerous noteworthy trials and court cases. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was tried a number of times in the Bombay High Court, but the most famous was his trial for sedition in the 1916 case Emperor v. Bal Gangadhar Tilak.[citation needed]

Controversies

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Bar Council had boycotted some judges of the High Court in 1991 under the leadership of Senior Counsel Iqbal Chagla.[11] In 2011, a couple of petitions came to be filed challenging housing societies built by judges upon plots of land reserved for other purposes.[12]

In November 2021, the Bombay High Court issued a controversial criminal case against AstraZeneca for misinformation and misleading claims regarding the safety of their vaccines. The suit claims this misinformation is responsible for the death of the afflicted. Some rumors appeared that the suit was against Bill Gates for partial funding of AstraZeneca, but these rumors were fake. The suit is addressed to both The State of Maharashtra and AstraZeneca.[13]

Judges

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The Bombay High Court sits at Mumbai, the capital of the state of Maharashtra, and has additional benches in Aurangabad and Nagpur in Maharashtra, as well as Panaji in the state of Goa. It may have a maximum of 94 judges, of which 71 must be permanently appointed and 23 may be additionally appointed. Currently, it has a total of 66 Judges.[14]

Permanent judges

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# Judge Date of joining Date of retirement
1 Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya (CJ) 21 November 2011 15 June 2027
2 Nitin Madhukar Jamdar 23 January 2012 9 January 2026
3 Sunil Balkrishna Shukre 13 May 2013 24 October 2023
4 Kalpathi Rajendran Shriram 21 June 2013 27 September 2025
5 Gautam Shirish Patel 21 June 2013 25 April 2024
6 Atul Sharachchandra Chandurkar 21 June 2013 6 April 2027
7 Revati Prashant Mohite Dere 21 June 2013 16 April 2027
8 Mahesh Sharadchandra Sonak 21 June 2013 27 November 2026
9 Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge 21 June 2013 8 July 2028
10 Ajey Shrikant Gadkari 6 January 2014 13 June 2027
11 Nitin Wasudeo Sambre 6 January 2014 18 December 2029
12 Girish Sharadchandra Kulkarni 6 January 2014 23 June 2030
13 Burgess Pesi Colabawalla 6 January 2014 15 December 2029
14 Anuja Prabhudessai 3 March 2014 7 February 2024
15 Prakash Deu Naik 17 March 2016 29 April 2024
16 Makarand Subhash Karnik 17 March 2016 9 February 2031
17 Rohit Baban Deo* 5 June 2017 4 December 2025
18 Bharati Harish Dangre 5 June 2017 9 May 2030
19 Sarang Vijaykumar Kotwal 5 June 2017 12 April 2030
20 Riyaz Iqbal Changla 5 June 2017 21 October 2031
21 Manish Pitale 5 June 2017 10 September 2032
22 Mangesh Shivajirao Patil 5 June 2017 26 July 2025
23 Prithviraj Keshavrao Chavan 5 June 2017 21 February 2025
24 Vibha Vasant Kankanwadi 5 June 2017 23 June 2026
25 Shriram Madhusudan Modak 11 October 2018 12 November 2027
26 Nijamoddin Jahiroddin Jamadar 11 October 2018 21 September 2034
27 Vinay Gajanan Joshi 11 October 2018 13 November 2024
28 Rajendra Govind Avachat 11 October 2018 14 March 2026
29 Avinash Gunwant Gharote 23 August 2019 16 May 2025
30 Nitin Bhagawantrao Suryawanshi 23 August 2019 29 May 2028
31 Anil Satyavijay Kilor 23 August 2019 2 September 2028
32 Milind Narendra Jadhav 23 August 2019 13 August 2031
33 Mukulika Shrikant Jawalkar 5 December 2019 25 May 2026
34 Nitin Rudrasen Borkar 5 December 2019 1 August 2033
35 Madhav Jayajirao Jamdar 7 January 2020 12 January 2029
36 Amit Bhalchandra Borkar 7 January 2020 1 January 2034
37 Rajesh Narayandas Laddha 25 June 2021 26 April 2026
38 Sanjay Ganpatrao Mehare 25 June 2021 22 March 2025
39 Govinda Ananda Sanap 25 June 2021 23 February 2025
40 Shivkumar Ganpatrao Dige 25 June 2021 2 August 2033
41 Anil Laxman Pansare 21 October 2021 13 November 2027
42 Sandipkumar Chandrabhan More 21 October 2021 6 April 2028
Vacant

*Justice Rohit B Deo of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court reportedly resigned saying he could not compromise on self-respect.[15]

Additional judges

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# Judge Date of joining
1 Abhay Ahuja 4 March 2020
2 Urmila Sachin Joshi-Phalke[16] 6 June 2022
3 Bharat Pandurang Deshpande 6 June 2022
4 Kishore Chandrakant Sant 19 July 2022
5 Valmiki SA Menezes 19 July 2022
6 Kamal Rashmi Khata 19 July 2022
7 Sharmila Uttamrao Deshmukh 19 July 2022
8 Arun Ramnath Pedneker 19 July 2022
9 Sandeep Vishnupant Marne 19 July 2022
10 Gauri Vinod Godse 19 July 2022
11 Rajesh Shantaram Patil 19 July 2022
12 Arif Saleh Doctor 19 July 2022
13 Sanjay A. Deshmukh 7 October 2022
14 Y. G. Khobragade 7 October 2022
15 M. W. Chandwani 7 October 2022
16 Abhay Sopanrao Waghwase 7 October 2022
17 R. M. Joshi 7 October 2022
18 Vrushali V. Joshi 7 October 2022
19 Santosh Govindrao Hapalgaonkar 30 November 2022
20 Milind Manohar Sathaye 30 November 2022
21 Neela Kedar Gokhale 30 January 2023
22 Shailesh Pramod Brahme 15 June 2023
23 Firdosh Phiroze Pooniwalla 15 June 2023
24 Jitendra Shantilal Jain 15 June 2023

List of chief justices

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# Chief Justice[17] Tenure Governor

(Oathed By)

Start Finish
1 Sir Mathew Richard Sausse 1862 1866
2 Sir Richard Couch 1866 1870
3 Sir Michael Roberts Westropp 1870 1882
4 Sir Charles Sargent 1882 1895
5 Sir Charles Frederick Farran 1895 1898
6 Sir Louis Addin Kershaw 1898 1899
7 Sir Lawrence Hugh Jenkins 1899 1908
8 Sir Basil Scott 1908 1919
9 Sir Norman Cranstoun Macleod 1919 1926
10 Sir Amberson Barrington Marten 1926 1930
11 Sir John William Fisher Beaumont 1930 1943
12 Sir Leonard Stone 1943 1947 John Colville
After Independence
12 Sir Leonard Stone 1947 1948 John Colville
13 Mahommedali Currim Chagla 1948 1958 Raja Sir Maharaj Singh
14 Hashmatrai Khubchand Chainani 1958 1965 Sri Prakasa
15 Yeshwant Shripad Tambe 1965 4 February 1966
5 February 1966 31 July 1966 Dr P V Cherian
16 Sohrab Peshotan Kotval 1 August 1966 26 September 1972
17 K. Kalyandas Desai 27 September 1972 26 October 1972
18 Ramanlal Maneklal Kantawala 27 October 1972 5 October 1978 Ali Yavar Jung
19 B. N. Deshmukh 6 October 1978 18 November 1980 Sri Sadiq Ali
20 Venkat Shrinivas Deshpande 19 November 1980 11 January 1981 –
12 January 1981 11 August 1982 O P Mehra
21 Dinshah Pirosha Madon 12 August 1982 30 August 1982 –
31 August 1982 14 March 1983 Idris Hasan Latif
22 Madhukar Narhar Chandurkar 15 March 1983 14 March 1984
23 Konda Madhava Reddy 8 April 1984 21 October 1985
24 Madhukar Hiralal Kania 23 June 1986 1 May 1987 Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma
25 Chittatosh Mookerjee 2 November 1987 31 December 1990
26 Prabodh Dinkarrao Desai 7 January 1991 13 December 1992 Dr. C Subramaniam
27 Manoj Kumar Mukherjee 9 January 1993 14 December 1993
28 Sujata Manohar 15 January 1994 7 November 1994 Dr. P.C. Alexander
29 Anandamoy Bhattacharjee 21 April 1994 1 April 1995
30 Manharlal Bhikhalal Shah 2 August 1995 9 December 1998
31 Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal 3 February 1999 28 January 2000
32 Bisheshwar Prasad Singh 31 March 2000 14 December 2001
33 Chunilal Karsandas Thakker 31 December 2001 7 June 2004
34 Dalveer Bhandari 25 July 2004 27 October 2005 Mohammed Fazal
35 Kshitij R. Vyas 25 February 2006 18 July 2006 S.M. Krishna
36 Harjit Singh Bedi 3 October 2006 12 January 2007
37 Swatanter Kumar 31 March 2007 30 December 2009
38 Anil Ramesh Dave 11 February 2010 29 April 2010 Kateekal Sankaranarayanan
39 Mohit Shantilal Shah 26 June 2010 8 September 2015
40 Dhirendra Hiralal Waghela 15 February 2016 10 August 2016 Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao
41 Manjula Chellur 22 August 2016 4 December 2017
42 Naresh Harishchandra Patil 29 October 2018 6 April 2019
43 Pradeep Nandrajog 7 April 2019 23 February 2020
44 B. P. Dharmadhikari 20 March 2020 27 April 2020 Bhagat Singh Koshyari
45 Dipankar Datta 28 April 2020 11 December 2022
46 Ramesh Deokinandan Dhanuka 28 May 2023 30 May 2023 Ramesh Bais
47 Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya 29 July 2023 Incumbent

Chief Justice and judges

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See also: List of sitting judges of High Courts of India

Judges who elevated in Supreme Court of India

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Sr. No Name of the Judge, Justice Date of Elevation Date of Retirement Parent High Court
1 Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud (CJI) 13 May 2016 10 November 2024 Bombay
2 Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai 24 May 2019 23 November 2025 Bombay
3 Abhay Shreeniwas Oka 31 August 2021 24 May 2025 Bombay

Judges who elevated as Chief Justice of another High Court

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Sr. no. Name of the judge, justice Recruitment Date of appointment Date of retirement Remark
1 Prasanna B. Varale Bar 18 July 2008 22 June 2024 Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court
2 Sanjay V. Gangapurwala Bar 13 March 2010 23 May 2024 Chief Justice of Madras High Court

Principal seat and benches

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The court has jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra, Goa and the Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The court has benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Panaji.

Bench Judge strength Territorial jurisdiction
Bombay(Principal) 35 Mumbai (City), Mumbai (Suburban), Thane, Palghar, Kolhapur, Nashik, Pune, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sangli, Sindhudurg, Solapur, Dadra & Nagar Haveli at Silvassa, Daman, Diu.
Aurangabad 18 Aurangabad, Ahmednagar, Beed, Dhule, Jalna, Jalgaon, Latur, Nanded, Osmanabad, Parbhani, Nandurbar, Hingoli
Nagpur 17 Nagpur, Akola, Amravati, Bhandara, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Gondia, Gadchiroli, Washim
Panaji 04 North Goa (Panaji), South Goa (Margao)
Total 74

Nagpur bench

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Nagpur is an industrial and commercial city situated in the centre of India. Formerly, it was the capital of the former State of CP & Berar, later old Madhya Pradesh and now it is the sub-capital of the State of Maharashtra.[18] A full-fledged High Court was established at Nagpur on 9 January 1936 and contracted by Sir Sobha Singh.[19] Later it was included as a separate bench in the Bombay High Court jurisdiction after the formation of the state of Maharashtra in 1960.

History

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Sir Gilbert Stone, a Judge of the Madras High Court was appointed as first Chief Justice. The foundation stone of the new building (present High Court building) was laid by late Sir Hyde Gowan on 9-1-1937. The building was designed by Mr. H.A.N. Medd, Resident Architect. It was constructed at a cost of Rs.737,746/-.The building consisted of two stories with a garden courtyard in the centre. The outside dimensions are 400 ft x 230 ft. The original design provided for a main central dome rising 109 feet above ground land, the remainder of the building being approximately 52 feet in height. The building has been constructed with sandstone. The building has Ashlar stone facing and brick hearting. The flooring in the corridors and offices is of Sikosa and Shahabad flag stones. The building is declared open on 6 January 1940. On the opening ceremony the Viceroy of India described this building as a poem in stone. The High Court has a fairly well planned garden on the eastern as well as western sides.

The High Court of Judicature at Nagpur continued to be housed in this building till the reorganisation of states in 1956. With effect from 1-11-1956, eight Marathi speaking districts of Vidarbha formed part of the greater bilingual State of Bombay which came into existence. Remaining fourteen Hindi speaking districts of the former State of Madhya Pradesh became part of the newly constituted State of Madhya Pradesh with the capital at Bhopal. The High Court of Madhya Pradesh was treated as the successor of the former High Court at Nagpur.

New building

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A bench of the High Court at Bombay began to sit in this building at Nagpur with effect from 1-11-1956 and continues to do so even after the formation of the State of Maharashtra on 1-5-1960. During the year 1960 the strength of this Bench consisted of four Honourable Judges.

The extension of High Court building consists of two annex buildings on both sides of the existing building viz., North and South Wings. For this Government of Maharashtra has sanctioned Rs. 1,2,926,605/- on dated 21 March 1983. 'South Wing' houses various utilities for the public, i.e. litigants and the Bar as well as High Court Government Pleader's Establishment including Standing Counsel for Central Government and 'A Panel Counsels, and also for the establishment. In the North Wing, it is proposed to accommodate additional Court Halls, Chambers of the Hobble Judges, Judges' Library and the office.

Presently, the strength of this Bench consists of 10 Honourable Judges and total employees are 412.

Aurangabad bench

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The Aurangabad bench was established in 1982. Initially, only a few districts of Maharashtra were under the Aurangabad bench. Subsequently, in 1988, Ahmednagar & other districts were attached to the bench. The bench at Aurangabad has more than 13 judges. The jurisdiction of the Aurangabad Bench is over Aurangabad, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalna, Jalgaon, Beed, Parbhani, Latur & Osmanabad. The bench also has a Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa office. The present building of bench is situated in huge premises. The garden is beautifully maintained. Lush green grass invites the attention of any passerby. The HC bench at Aurangabad is approximately 4 km from the Aurangabad Airport and around 6 km from the central bus stand. The new building has 13 court halls in all now including two new ones. All the court halls are on the first floor of the building, while the registry of the Court is on the ground floor. The Aurangabad bench has a strong Bar of more than 1000 advocates, but the Aurangabad bench does not have jurisdiction over company law matters.

The Aurangabad Bench celebrated its 28th anniversary on 27 August 2009.

History

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Due to the continued demand of the people of Marathwada region for the establishment of a permanent Bench of the High Court at Aurangabad under sub-section (2) of Sec. 51 of the Act, the State Government first took up the issue with the then Chief Justice R. M. Kantawala in 1977. On 22 March 1978, the State Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution supporting a demand for the establishment of a permanent Bench of the High Court at Aurangabad to the effect : "With a view to save huge expenses and to reduce the inconvenience of the people of the Marathwada and Pune regions in connection with legal proceedings, this Assembly recommends to the Government to make a request to the President to establish a permanent Bench of the Bombay High Court having jurisdiction in Marathwada and Pune regions, one at Aurangabad and the other at Pune."

The said demand for the constitution of a permanent Bench of the High Court at Aurangabad was supported by the State Bar Council of Maharashtra, the Advocates' Association of Western India, several bar associations and people in general. It is necessary here to mention that the resolution as originally moved made a demand for the setting up of a permanent Bench of the High Court of Bombay at Aurangabad for the Marathwada region, and there was, no reference to Pune which was added by way of amendment. Initially, the State Government recommended to the Central Government in 1978 to establish two permanent Benches under sub-sec. (2) of Section 51 of the Act, one at Aurangabad and the other at Pune, but later in 1981 confined its recommendation to Aurangabad alone.

The State Government thereafter took a Cabinet decision in January 1981 to establish a permanent Bench of the High Court at Aurangabad and this was conveyed by the Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, Law & Judiciary Department, communicated by his letter dated 3 February 1981 to the Registrar and he was requested, with the permission of the Chief Justice, to submit proposals regarding accommodation for the Court and residential bungalows for the Judges, staff, furniture, etc. necessary for setting up the Bench. As a result of this communication, the Chief Justice wrote to the Chief Minister on 26 February 1981 signifying his consent to the establishment of a permanent Bench at Aurangabad. After adverting to the fact that his predecessors had opposed such a move and had indicated, amongst other things, that such a step involved, as it does, breaking up of the integrity of the institution and the Bar, which would necessarily impair the quality and quantity of the disposals.

It, however, became evident by the middle of June 1981 that the Central Government would take time in reaching a decision on the proposal for the establishment of a permanent Bench under sub-sec. (2) of Section 51 of the Act at Aurangabad as the question involved a much larger issue, viz. the principles to be adopted and the criterion laid down for the establishment of permanent Benches of High Courts generally. This meant that there would be an inevitable delay in securing the concurrence of the Central Government and the issuance of a Presidential Notification under sub-sec. (2) of S. 51 of the Act. On 19 June 1981, the State Government accordingly took a Cabinet decision pending the establishment of a permanent Bench under sub-sec. (2) of S. 51 of the Act at Aurangabad for the Marathwada region, resort be had to the provisions of sub-section (3) thereof. On 20 June 1981, the Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, Law & Judiciary Department wrote to the Registrar stating that there was a possibility of a delay in securing concurrence of the Central Government and the issuance of a notification by the President under subsection (2) of S. 51 of the Act for the establishment of a permanent Bench at Auangabad and in order to tide over the difficulty, the provisions of sub-sec. (3) of Section 51 of the Act may be resorted to and he, therefore, requested the Chief Justice to favour the Government With his views on the matter at an early date. On 5 July 1981, the Law Secretary waited on the Chief Justice in that connection. On 7 July 1981 the Chief Justice wrote a letter to the Chief Minister in which he stated that the Law Secretary had conveyed to him the decision of the State Government to have a Circuit Bench at Auangabad under sub-sec. (3) of Section 51 pending the decision of the Central Government to establish a permanent Bench there under sub-section (2) of S. 51 of the Act. The Chief Justice then added: "I agree that some such step is necessary in view of the preparations made by the Government at huge costs and the mounting expectations of the people there."

Formation

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On 20 July 1981, the Law Secretary addressed a letter to the Registrar requesting him to forward, with the permission of the Chief Justice, a proposal as is required under sub-section (3) of S. 51 for the setting up of a Bench at Auangabad . In reply to the same, the Registrar by his letter dated 24 July 1981 conveyed that the Chief Justice agreed with the suggestion of the State Government that action had to be taken under sub-section (3) of S. 51 of the Act for which the approval of the Governor was necessary and he enclosed a copy of the draft order which the Chief Justice proposed to issue under sub-section (3) of S. 51 of the Act. On 10 Aug. 1981, the Law Secretary conveyed to the Registrar the approval of the Governor. On 27 Aug. 1981, the Chief Justice issued an order under sub-section (3) of S. 51 of the Act to the effect: "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of S. 51 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (No. 37 of 1956) and all other powers enabling him on this behalf, the Hon'ble the Chief Justice, with the approval of the Governor of Maharashtra, is pleased to appoint Aurangabad as a place at which the Hon'ble Judges and Division Courts of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay may also sit." This is the history of how the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court was constituted. The Constitution of the Bench by The Hon’ble Chief Justice V.S.Deshpande then came to be challenged before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The Petition filed by the State of Maharashtra was allowed and the people's aspirations from Marathwada were recognized. The Judgment is a reported one (State of Maharashtra v. Narain Shyamrao Puranik) in AIR 1983 Supreme Court 46.

Goa bench

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When the High Court of Bombay constituted a bench in Porvorim, Goa, Justice G.F Couto was appointed its first Goan permanent judge. Justice G.D. Kamath was appointed as judge in 1983 and later in 1996 as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court. Justice E.S da Silva was elevated in 1990 and was a judge of this court till his retirement in 1995. Justice R.K. Batta and Justice R.M.S. Khandeparkar were Judges of the Goa bench for 8 and 12 years respectively. Justice F.I Rebello, was appointed Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in 2010 and retired in 2011. Justice Nelson Britto was Judge for five years. Justice A.P Lavande, Justice F.M.Reis, and Justice M.S. Sonak, were senior lawyers who practiced in the Goa Bench before their elevation. Presently Goa has one lady judge, Justice Anuja Prabhudesai. Justice A Prabhudesai and retired Justice Nutan Sardesai who were both District Judges.

History

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Prior to the annexation of Goa, Daman and Diu the highest Court for the then Portuguese State of India was the Tribunal da Relação de Goa functioning at Panjim. Originally established in 1554, the Relação de Goa used to serve as the high court of appeal for all the Portuguese East Indies territories of the Indian Ocean and the Far East, including what are now Mozambique, Macau and East Timor, besides India itself. The Relação de Goa was abolished when a Court of Judicial Commissioner was established w.e.f. 16 December 1963 under Goa-Daman & Diu (Judicial Commissioner Court) Regulation, 1963. In May 1964 an Act was passed by the Parliament which conferred upon the Court of Judicial Commissioner, some powers of the High Court for the purposes of the Constitution of India.

Parliament by an Act extended the jurisdiction of High Court at Bombay to the Union territory of Goa Daman & Diu and established a permanent Bench of that High Court at Panaji on 30.10.1982

From its inception, the Hon'ble Shri Justice Dr. G.F.Couto who was at that time acting Judicial Commissioner was elevated to the Bench of High Court of Bombay. The Hon'ble Shri Justice G.D.Kamat was elevated to the Bench on 29.8.1983.

With the passing of Goa, Daman & Re-organization Act, 1987 by the Parliament conferring Statehood to Goa, the High Court of Bombay became the common High Court for the states of Maharashtra and Goa and the Union territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu w.e.f. 30.5.1987.

First Relocation

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The High Court was shifted from the old building of Tribunal da Relação to Lyceum Complex at Altinho, Panaji and started functioning there from 3.11.1997. The main building at the said Complex, constructed in the year 1925 by the Portuguese Government, was renovated by the Goa state government and inaugurated by the Hon'ble Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Shri M.B.Shah on 2.10.1997.The Hon'ble Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Shri Y. K. Sabharwal, inaugurated the 2nd building on 9.9.1999. Both these buildings now house several departments of the Bombay high court – panaji bench.

Second Relocation

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Due to the space crunch in the lyseum complex, a new building complex is being built in alto – betim porvorim region in Porvorim. The new building was inaugurated on 27 March 2021.[20] The first court hearing in the new building was presided on by the divisional bench composed of Chief Justice of the Bombay high court Dipankar Datta and Justice Mahesh Sonak on 17 August 2021.[21]

Case information

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The Case Status and Causelists of Bombay High Court is available on its official website at www.bombayhighcourt.nic.in. The Orders and Judgments from the year 2005 are also available on the website.

As of March 2012 the High Court has 315,988 civil cases and 45,960 criminal cases pending. At the same time, the District and subordinate courts under the Bombay High Court have a total of 3,179,475 pending cases.[22]

See also

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bombay High Court.

References

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  1. ^ a b "History of Bombay HC". Bombay High Court. Archived from the original on 20 October 2015. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  2. ^ "UPA is committed to improving justice delivery system, says Manmohan at Mumbai HC". The Hindu. 18 August 2012. Archived from the original on 25 August 2012. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  3. ^ "Ministry of Law & Justice -Official Website". Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 5 June 2017.
  4. ^ "Govt still to clear 26 as judges, Bombay High Court down to nearly half its strength". The Indian Express. 5 July 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  5. ^ M. C. Chagla
  6. ^ "High Court Alteration of Names Bill, 2016" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 August 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  7. ^ "Change of the name of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta HC". 5 July 2016. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2016.
  8. ^ "Names of Calcutta, Madras, Bombay HCs may not change in near future: Govt". Indian Express. 14 December 2016. Archived from the original on 26 December 2018. Retrieved 26 December 2018.
  9. ^ "150 years celebration of the Bombay High Court; PM to attend the closing ceremony on August 18". 13 August 2012. Archived from the original on 7 August 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  10. ^ Dhananjaya Chandrachud; Anoop V Mohta; Roshan S Dalvi, eds. (August 2012). A Heritage of Judging the Bombay High Court through one hundred and fifty years (PDF). Maharashtra Judicial Academy. ISBN 978-81-925582-0-2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 October 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  11. ^ Sandhii, Kanwar (28 February 1991). "Edgy Ethics". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  12. ^ Sequeira, Rosy (23 November 2012). "Judges societies' land allotment legal'". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 February 2014.
  13. ^ "Bombay High Court Criminal Case" (PDF). November 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.
  14. ^ "Chief Justice and Present Judges - High Court of Bombay". bombayhighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  15. ^ "'I am sorry…': Who is Justice Rohit Deo and why did he resign as Bombay high court judge?". Hindustan Times. 5 August 2023. Retrieved 5 August 2023.
  16. ^ Benwal, Narsi (10 January 2024). "Sexual relationship was out of love not lust: Bombay High Court allows bail to man booked for raping minor". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Hon'ble Former Chief Justices". Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  18. ^ "Bombay High Court_Nagpur Bench-Official Web site". Archived from the original on 8 December 2009. Retrieved 7 December 2009.
  19. ^ Roopa-lekhā. All-India Fine Arts and Crafts Society. 1968.
  20. ^ "New Building of High Court of Bombay at Goa Inaugurated". Department of Information and Publicity, Government of Goa. 27 March 2021.
  21. ^ "High court to start hearings at new premises | Goa News – Times of India". The Times of India.
  22. ^ "Supreme Court – Court News – Apr – June 2012" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 9 November 2013.
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