5.25 Acres Of Land For Bombay HC New Building Will Be Handed Over By End Of January: Maharashtra Govt To Supreme Court

In the suo moto case involving the issue of additional land allotment for Bombay High Court's new complex, the Maharashtra government informed the Supreme Court yesterday that an area of 5.25 acres, which was to be handed over by December 31, 2024 would be handed over by the end of January, 2025.

The matter was before a bench of Justices BR Gavai, AG Masih and K Vinod Chandran which, taking into account Maharashtra government's submission, posted it to April, 2025, while appreciating the proactive role played by the state to ensure that the construction of the building starts at the earliest and is completed in a time-bound manner. 

During the hearing, Advocate General Birendra Saraf, appearing for Maharashtra government, produced a chart showing the status of the progress of handing over of the land in phased manner. This chart depicted that in the first phase (October, 2024), an area of 4.39 acres was handed over to the High Court. The remaining area of 5.25 acres was to be handed over by December 31, however on account of certain difficulties, the same could not be done. 

AG Saraf further informed the Court that the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the building was done on September 23, 2024 and tender has been floated for appointment of Project Management Consultant.

Timeline of relevant developments

On May 17, 2024, the Supreme Court directed Maharashtra government to release the first tranche of land in Bandra. It was stated that the government need not wait till December, 2024 to allot the entire 9.64 acres for the High Court out of the total area of 30.16 acres allotted.

On July 15, 2024, the Maharashtra government informed the Court that a land parcel of 4.39 acres in Bandra would be vacated and handed over by September 10 to the Bombay High Court for the new building.

On August 22, 2024, the Court issued new deadline of August 31 for the Maharashtra government to handover the land in the Bandra Kurla Complex (allotted for the new building of the Bombay High Court), considering the speedily dilapidating condition of the 150-year-old structure.

On September 25, 2024, the Court asked the Administrative Committee headed by Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and the Maharashtra government to look into the possibility of having an Arbitration Centre in the Air India Building near the Bombay High Court complex.

Case Details : IN RE: HERITAGE BUILDING OF THE BOMBAY HIGH COURT AND ALLOTMENT OF ADDITIONAL LANDS FOR THE HIGH COURT, SMW (C) No(s). 5/2024

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