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Court was informed today that a structural audit of the heritage existing building of the high court had been ordered by the state government and work was to begin shortly
The Supreme Court today has directed the Maharashtra government to make all endeavors for handing over the first tranche of 9 acres of land for the Bombay High Court's new building by the end of September 2024.
"We direct govt to make all endeavors to hand over the first tranche of 9 acres by the end of September 2024..and need not wait till December end to hand over the whole of first tranche..", a special three judge bench led by CJI DY Chandrachud has ordered.
On the process for appointing an architect for the new building, court was told by Advocate General Birendra Saraf that the same was underway and 4-5 renowned architects would be approached so as to avoid further delay.
Earlier, with a view to ensure structural safety of existing high court premises, the Maharashtra State's PWD had been directed by the Supreme Court of India to conduct an audit and apprise the court.
A three-judge special bench of the Supreme Court has been hearing a suo motu petition concerning the Bombay High Court's heritage building and the allotment of land for its new building.
Lawyers of the Bombay Bar Association had recently written to the CJI flagging the issue. The bench also comprising Justices BR Gavai and JB Pardiwala had noted that a land at Goregaon was not convenient for the new building complex.
The Bombay High Court is also seized of the issue while hearing a PIL filed by Advocate Ahmad Abdi in 2012 seeking a new building for the high court on a priority basis.
Last month, it had asked the Maharashtra government to explore land availability at Goregaon for the new High Court complex, despite considerable progress having been made to shift the new High Court building to Bandra.
In March, the High Court had expressed its displeasure over the delay by the Maharashtra State Government in allotting land for the new high court building in Bandra.
The division bench of the high court, comprising Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor, remarked that the lives of the court officers were at peril due to the bad condition of the high court building.
“The condition of the Bombay High Court building is well known. The condition of this building and also the annexe building is bad. Our officers work there. Their lives are in peril. They work in dangerous conditions. There is no space for storage, no space to walk, and the stairs are in poor condition,” Chief Justice said.
Case Title: In Re: Heritage Building of the Bombay High Court
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