Bombay High Court celebrates 150 years of existence Exhibition of Rare Documents till September 6

The Bombay High Court recently celebrated 150 years of its existence, a celebration which saw the attendance of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Attorney General GE Vahanvati amongst others. Speaking at the occasion, the Prime Minster lauded the High Court for its “creative and dynamic interpretations” and recalled that the High Court “has been a spectacular bulwark of freedom in independent India.”.The Bombay High Court recently celebrated 150 years of its existence, a celebration which saw the attendance of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Justice SH Kapadia and Attorney General GE Vahanvati amongst others. Speaking at the occasion, the Prime Minster lauded the High Court for its “creative and dynamic interpretations” and recalled that the High Court “has been a spectacular bulwark of freedom in independent India”. The PM also noted that the Bombay High Court has seen 22 of its judges being elevated to the Supreme Court of India in the last 65 years..Speaking at the closing ceremony, Chief Justice Kapadia stated that there was a pressing need to keep judicial integrity intact. He also observed that cases should not be judged on a “presumption of corruption” since that would lead to a violation of the principles of natural justice. In a statement which gains great significance given the recent clashes between the judiciary and the legislature, the Chief Justice advised judges to exercise judicial restraint, particularly in the absence of an available “legal standard”..The celebrations included the release of commemorative postal covers and stamps. An added attraction is an exhibition of rare documents from the High Court archives including the Letters Patent of King George II which led to the eventual establishment of the Bombay High Court..The exhibition also has the application of M. Jinnah for becoming an Advocate, dated August 18, 1896 and duly stamped with a stamp of Rs.500. As explained by the helpful High Court staff, the high stamp duty was a deliberate move by the British to discourage Indians from enrolling at the Bar..The exhibition shall run till September 6, 2012 and is being held at the central hall of the Court, also known as “Tilak’s Court”. The exhibition also contains a painting of Justice Grant, a judge who once literally locked down the High Court (it was then the Supreme Court of Bombay) to protest against the interference of the Crown. Amongst other exhibits is the Mace of the Chief Justice and a letter from 1923 deleting one MK Gandhi from the advocates roll.