Land Transfer for New Bombay HC Building in Bandra to Begin by Sept: SC Informed

The Supreme Court was informed that the new building for the Bombay High Court would be constructed in Bandra, as originally planned.

The Maharashtra Government will hand over 4.39 acres of land in the Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) premises to the High Court for this purpose by September 10.

A division bench of CJI DY Chandrachud, along with Justices BR Gavai and JB Pardiwala, was also told that the remaining 30.46 acres would be transferred to the High Court within a specified timeframe.

This decision followed a High Court meeting with all stakeholders on July 9.

“On July 8, there was an internal meeting led by the Chief Justice of the High Court with the Judges Committee. On July 9, all stakeholders participated. We have been informed that by September 10, a contiguous area of 4.39 acres in BKC will be handed over to the High Court by the state government. The State has indicated a timeline to hand over the balance area, which measures 30.46 acres, to the High Court as well,” the order stated.

The Top Court was hearing a suo motu case based on a letter petition from the President of the Bombay Bar Association, Nitin Thakker, and others. This case arose after the High Court suggested the State explore the possibility of constructing the new building in Goregaon instead of Bandra.

In April, the Bombay High Court asked the Maharashtra government to investigate land availability in Goregaon for the new High Court complex and provide a rough sketch of accessibility from the proposed coastal road. Despite significant progress made towards shifting the new High Court building to Bandra, the Supreme Court took up the suo motu case concerning the issue.

In May, the top court directed the Maharashtra government to release the first tranche of land necessary for the new Bombay High Court building, emphasizing that the State need not wait until December 2024 to hand over the entire 9.64 acres of land earmarked for the project. During the hearing on May 7, the Court remarked that Goregaon was not a convenient location for the proposed new High Court complex and ordered expedited action towards relocating the current complex to Bandra.

Following these directions, the High Court committee and the State held a meeting before deciding to proceed with the Bandra plan. The apex court also noted that the State has suggested the names of eight architects who would be given the opportunity to showcase their designs for the building, after which expressions of interest would be called for.

The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on August 22, 2024.

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