Explore land availability at Goregaon instead of Bandra for new High Court complex: Bombay High Court to State

The Bombay High Court on Friday asked the Maharashtra government to explore land availability at Goregaon for the new High Court complex and to provide a rough sketch of accessibility from the proposed coastal road. [Ahmad Abdi v. State of Maharashtra & Ors.].This development came about despite the considerable progress made to start the project for the new High Court building at Bandra. A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice AS Doctor clarified that the Court will not stop the government from declaring the currently allotted area at Bandra as a special area for public project of vital importance..The Court was hearing a plea concerning the allotment of land to construct a new court complex.In January 2019, the High Court had directed the State government to take a decision on offering a large and convenient plot of land for the construction of a new High Court complex.In May 2023, the Maharashtra government asked the High Court administration to take advance possession of certain land in Bandra East for this purpose.The Court however was informed on March 11 this year that the land was not vacant yet and contained staff quarters for government officials, some of whom even worked in the High Court..Advocate General Birendra Saraf today informed the Court that the total area of the proposed High Court building is approximately 30.16 acres, with a portion of 13.73 acres expected to be available for possession by January 2025.The Court pointed out that the State of Chhattisgarh had allotted 100 acres of land for the new High Court building.Saraf highlighted that the proposed land in Goregaon was larger than the present alloted land but was rejected by the High Court due to accessibility issues.The petitioner then pointed out that the Goregaon land was vacant and spanned 300 acres.Saraf, however, informed the Court that a large part of the land was allotted to Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) and that the land was not acceptable to the High Court.The Bench, however, expressed interest in revisiting the possibility of utilizing the Goregaon land, particularly if it can be accessed via the proposed coastal road. Accordingly, the Court requested the government to provide a rough sketch illustrating the accessibility from the proposed coastal road.AG Saraf then proposed discussing this matter further at an administrative meeting with government officials and also pointed out the work already undertaken at Bandra.The Court, however, said it will not stop the government from declaring the currently allotted area at Bandra as a special area for public project of vital importance. "This (Goregaon land) is only a possibility to explore," it said..Saraf argued today that this present project will be declared as a "public project as vital importance" in June 2024 after elections. This would come because the new court complex forms part of the special project for revamping over 89 acres of land in Bandra with the help of the Economic Development Co-operation Fund (EDCH), from the Republic of South Korea.