The Bombay High Court is one of the oldest High Courts of India. It is located in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The first Chief Justice, the Attorney General and Solicitor General of Independent India were from this court. Since India's Independence, 22 judges from this court have been elevated to the Supreme Court and 8 of them have been Chief Justice of India.
Foundation and Location
The building is part of The Victorian and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai, which was added to the list of World Heritage Sites in 2018.
The Legal History of Bombay may be said to have begun in 1661 when it became a British possession. The Town and Island of Bombay were received by the British as a part of the dowry of the Portuguese Princess Catherine of Braganza, sister of Alphonso VI, the then Portuguese Monarch when she married King Charles II.
Bombay then was little more than a small fishing village consisting of a few straggling huts of Kolis, its indigenous inhabitants; and its harbor, destined in the course of years to develop into the greatest and most important commercial seaport in the East, sheltered only a few fishing boats. Charles II transferred it to the East India Company in 1668 for an insignificant annual rent of 10 Pounds.
In 1670, the administration of justice was in the hands of Justices who held their sittings in the Custom Houses of Bombay and Mahim. The system of 1670 was very elementary and suffered from several drawbacks and the judicial system was too much identified with the executive government of the Island.
The main architect of the Judicial system during this period was Gerald Aungier, the Governor of Surat Factory. He has been described as the "true founder" of Bombay. He was a man with liberal ideas and believed in an impartial administration of justice without fear or favor.
Jurisdiction
Its jurisdiction covers the states of Maharashtra and Goa and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The High Court has regional branches at Nagpur and Aurangabad in Maharashtra and Panaji, the capital of Goa.
The court has Original Jurisdiction in addition to its Appellate. The decisions of this court can be appealed only to the Supreme Court of India. The Bombay High Court has a sanctioned strength of 94 judges (71 permanent, 23 additionals).
Present Chief Justice of Bombay High Court
Dipankar Datta is an Indian Judge. Presently, he is the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. He is a former Judge of Calcutta High Court. On 23 April 2020, he was appointed as the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court and took oath on 28 April 2020.
LANDMARK JUDGMENTS of Bombay High COURT
Ashok Chavan gets relief:-
The former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan got relief from the Bombay High Court I Adarsh case. A bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice SadhanaJadhav quashed and set aside the sanction order. The court was hearing a petition filed by Chavan challenging the decision of Maharashtra Governor C Vidyasagar Rao granting sanction to the CBI to prosecute him in the case.
Noise Pollution & Silent Zones
Along with the petition filed by SumairaAbdulali, of Awaaz Foundation and numerous PILs were clubbed together by the Bombay High Court challenging the blaring sounds and music that are played during festivals and this also included azaans played in mosques.
There were intervening PILs too. The police took prompt suo moto action to avoid being issued a contempt of court notice by the divisional bench of Justice Abhay Oka. This led to a first of its kind of a judicial versus political struggle. In August, the Chief Minister DevendraFadnavis through AshutoshKumbhakoni, the Advocate General had informed this bench, the government had no faith in Justice Oka. On August 24, the then
Chief Justice of Bombay High Court ManjulaChellur transferred all matters pertaining to noise pollution rules to another Bench after the Maharashtra government alleged one of the judges hearing the issue was “biased” against the administration. Prior to this controversy, the state government had removed all silent zones of Mumbai city.
However, public outrage forced the Mumbai police to take action on specific days and upheld the Supreme Court guidelines on noise pollution. The government was forced to apologize and the former CJ was forced to give back the PILs to J. Oka.
MahaRERA case
Giving relief to the central and state governments, the Bombay HC dismissed all the petitions challenging the Maha RERA – Maharashtra Real Estate Regulatory Authority. In a landmark order, the HC said the RERA law is for the benefit of a common person and empowers the ordinary customer.
The special bench of Justices Naresh Patil and Rajesh Ketkar in its observation cited the famous words of Mahatma Gandhi, in the order, saying,” it is important to wipe every tear of every person.”
No hawkers near stations
After the stampede on Elphistone Road bridge, on September 29, Sanjay Nirupam, the president of the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the action of BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation to prevent hawkers from selling outside railway stations.
However, the divisional bench of Justice BhushanGavai ordered preventing hawkers from selling within 100 meters from educational institutions like schools, colleges, religious places, and hospitals.
Furthermore, the HC in its order disallowed hawkers from selling within 150 meters of every railway station, including Foot-Over- Bridges and skywalks. This limitation also extends to the civic markets.
Illegal Pandals
A Thane-based pediatrician, Dr Mahesh Bedekar had filed a PIL with the division bench of J. Oka against the illegal pandals. Justice Oka had warned to take action against those Municipal Commissioners in whose jurisdiction the breach of the silent zone and other rules were breached.
Dahi handi
In 2017, the Maharashtra government challenged the previous order of HC and termed the festival as an adventure sport. They also challenged the order by Justice BhushanGavai that had restricted the height of the Dahi handi to nine tiers and the age bar of disallowing children below the age of 14.
Ban on new construction
Challenging the lack of space for dumping grounds and saturation of the existing ones, the Builders’ Association had filed a review petition against the HC order demanding new space.
However, the BMC informed the HC that a new project for the disposal of waste and garbage dumping can begin only from 2019. In July, the civic body sought a two-month extension from the HC to prepare a waste management plan for the city. The HC also imposed a ban on new construction in the city until the BMC finds a way to manage waste.
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