“List before the appropriate Bench”.As anyone following court proceedings in the Bombay High Court will tell you, this has become a common enough direction in recent times. The reason? A complete overhaul of the roster following the appointment of DH Waghela as the Bombay High Court’s Chief Justice..In fact, the roster has been changed, either partially or completely, on three separate occasions since the sitting list was published on March 3 this year..So what are some of the more significant changes? Well in Courtroom 13, Justice Oka was initially sitting with Justice Kulkarni. But by a notice dated March 15, Justice Kulkarni was replaced with newly appointed judge, Justice PD Naik. The roster before the judges has also been changed, essentially being exchanged with the matters heard by Justice Kanade, who is now sitting with the other recent addition to the Bench, Justice Karnik..But the most significant change introduced by Chief Waghela relates to the hearing of PIL’s with a large chunk of them being assigned to the first court. Chief Justice Waghela, who did not sit this week, shall now be hearing all PIL’s filed this year, writ petitions concerning environmental laws, as well as challenges to any statutes or laws..One of the exceptions to this is challenges to tax laws which is now to be heard by Justices Dharmardikari and Kulkarni..In fact, Justice Dharmadikari’s bench has also seen a number of changes; initially he sat with Justice Gautam Patel, then with Justice Sayed, before the current Bench with Justice Kulkarni. Justice Sayed now sits with Justice Mohta, while Justice Patel has been assigned a Single Bench with matters including testamentary petitions, IPR matters, and company matters..Other changes include the formation of an all woman Division Bench of Justices VK Tahilramani, who was the Acting Chief Justice for the longest time, and Justice Anuja Prabhudesai. This Bench hears criminal appeals amongst other cases..With such frequent changes, the sitting list is being inevitably referred to on multiple occasions, both by the Bar and the Bench. And, with the addition of four more judges (a total of six new appointments in less than a week), the roster will only be undergoing another change..Of course, the changes are not restricted to the sitting list alone. Earlier this month, the High Court also introduced a form to mark appearances..This has not really done away with the practice of marking appearances through chits; Justice Patel is the only judge who has specifically stated that the system of chits will no longer be followed in his court..Modification to Sitting List 1 (Partial w.e.f. 14 March)Modification to Sitting List 2 (Partial w.e.f. 21 March)Modification to Sitting List 3 (W.e.f. 21 March)Modification to Sitting List 4 (W.e.f. 28 March)
“List before the appropriate Bench”.As anyone following court proceedings in the Bombay High Court will tell you, this has become a common enough direction in recent times. The reason? A complete overhaul of the roster following the appointment of DH Waghela as the Bombay High Court’s Chief Justice..In fact, the roster has been changed, either partially or completely, on three separate occasions since the sitting list was published on March 3 this year..So what are some of the more significant changes? Well in Courtroom 13, Justice Oka was initially sitting with Justice Kulkarni. But by a notice dated March 15, Justice Kulkarni was replaced with newly appointed judge, Justice PD Naik. The roster before the judges has also been changed, essentially being exchanged with the matters heard by Justice Kanade, who is now sitting with the other recent addition to the Bench, Justice Karnik..But the most significant change introduced by Chief Waghela relates to the hearing of PIL’s with a large chunk of them being assigned to the first court. Chief Justice Waghela, who did not sit this week, shall now be hearing all PIL’s filed this year, writ petitions concerning environmental laws, as well as challenges to any statutes or laws..One of the exceptions to this is challenges to tax laws which is now to be heard by Justices Dharmardikari and Kulkarni..In fact, Justice Dharmadikari’s bench has also seen a number of changes; initially he sat with Justice Gautam Patel, then with Justice Sayed, before the current Bench with Justice Kulkarni. Justice Sayed now sits with Justice Mohta, while Justice Patel has been assigned a Single Bench with matters including testamentary petitions, IPR matters, and company matters..Other changes include the formation of an all woman Division Bench of Justices VK Tahilramani, who was the Acting Chief Justice for the longest time, and Justice Anuja Prabhudesai. This Bench hears criminal appeals amongst other cases..With such frequent changes, the sitting list is being inevitably referred to on multiple occasions, both by the Bar and the Bench. And, with the addition of four more judges (a total of six new appointments in less than a week), the roster will only be undergoing another change..Of course, the changes are not restricted to the sitting list alone. Earlier this month, the High Court also introduced a form to mark appearances..This has not really done away with the practice of marking appearances through chits; Justice Patel is the only judge who has specifically stated that the system of chits will no longer be followed in his court..Modification to Sitting List 1 (Partial w.e.f. 14 March)Modification to Sitting List 2 (Partial w.e.f. 21 March)Modification to Sitting List 3 (W.e.f. 21 March)Modification to Sitting List 4 (W.e.f. 28 March)
