4 Acres Land In Bandra Kurla To Be Handed Over For New Bombay HC Building By Sep 10 : Maharashtra Govt Tells Supreme Court

The State of Maharashtra today (July 15) informed the Supreme Court that a land parcel of 4.39 acres in Bandra Kurla will be vacated and handed over by September 10 to the Bombay High Court for the building of a new High Court Structure 

The special bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice BR Gavai and Justice JB Pardiwala, was hearing a suo moto petition regarding the heritage building of the Bombay High Court and the issue of additional land allotment. 

On the last hearing, the Court had asked the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court to expedite the process of finalising the architect and design plan for the new High Court building.  

Previously, the Court noted that it would be imperative for the Maharashtra Government to release the pending 9.64 acres of the land before the set deadline of December 2024, so that the construction as per the selected design plan can start at the earliest. The CJI asked the Maharashtra Advocate General Mr Birendra Saraf to expedite the handing over process in the month of Septemeber itself, after the monsoons end.   

Today, Saraf submitted that the state government will be handing over the vacant possession of 4.39 acres of area at Bandra Kurla to the High Court by September 10. It was further submitted that the State Government has indicated the timelines of the phased handing-over of the balance of the area of 30.16 acres in a colour-coded plan. Saraf stated that copies of the plan will be given to the Presidents of the 3 Bombay Bar Associations. 

Update On The Design Planning Of New Building & Alternative Arrangement Of Lands 

The Court noted that the State Government has shortlisted 8 architects for finalising the design planning. These 8 architects will be making their presentation before the High Court Committee and based on the most suitable plan as per the requirement of the High Court, the State Government will invite expressions of interest. 

In terms of the status of making available the alternative lands for temporary shifting, the Court recorded that (1) the Maharashtra Public Services Commission has vacated the premises which were leased out by the Bank of India (BOI) to the State Government. The documentary record of MPSC will also be removed by July end; (2) The Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) has entered into a leave and license agreement with the State for handing over the premises. A report on the imperative renovations of the building will be soon given by the PWD to the High Court Committee;

(3) The premises of the Central Telegraph Officer (CTO) are under a structural audit and its report will be given to the High Court Committee within a week. Upon receiving the structural audit report, the Committee would take a call on taking over the premises.  

The bench has now listed the matter for August 22. It observed that the Chief Justice of the High Court is free to carry out requisite meetings and monitor the progress of the project. 

"In view of the above development, we record that the proceedings be listed for hearing on 22 Aug 2024. The CJ of the HC will be at liberty to convene meetings and ensure that due monitoring of the project is being carried out continuously by the Learned Chief Justice of the High Court." 

Background 

The present matter concerns the urgent need for providing an alternative building to the Bombay High Court considering the speedily dilapidating condition of the 150-year-old structure of the Bombay High Court. 

It may be recalled that in terms of the progress on acquiring alternative areas for the shifting of the Bombay High Court, the state authorities have been able to procure a leave and license agreement with the following entities to get a part of their premises for running the High Court, these include (1) 18000 square feet of the area from Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) ; (2) 8000 square feet of the area from the premises of the Central Telegraph Office (CTO); (3) 12000 square feet of the area from the premises of Bank of India. 

Earlier, the court also directed a meeting to be conducted among the Chief Justice of the High Court, the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra, and representatives of the Union government to decide upon a common building to provide temporary alternative accommodation for the HC. It asked the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta to also attend the meeting online. The Maharashtra Public Works Department was also asked to conduct a structural and safety audit of the present Bombay High Court building in Fort, Mumbai before monsoon.  

Case Details : IN RE: HERITAGE BUILDING OF THE BOMBAY HIGH COURT AND ALLOTMENT OF ADDITIONAL LANDS FOR THE HIGH COURT