Bombay High Court

Bombay High Court
Interactive map of Bombay High Court
18°55′52.26″N 72°49′49.66″E
Established	14 August 1862 (1862-08-14)
Jurisdiction	Maharashtra Goa Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
Location	Principal seat: Bombay (Mumbai), Maharashtra Circuit benches: Nagpur, Aurangabad, Porvorim, Kolhapur
Coordinates	18°55′52.26″N 72°49′49.66″E
Composition method	Presidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of respective state.
Authorised by	Constitution of India
Judge term length	Mandatory retirement at age 62
Number of positions	94 (71 permanent, 23 additional)
Website	Official website
Chief Justice
Currently	Shree Chandrashekhar
Since	5 September 2025

The High Court of Bombay is the high court of the states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily at Mumbai (also known as Bombay), and is one of the oldest high courts in India. The High Court has circuit benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad and Kolhapur in Maharashtra and at Porvorim in Goa.

The first Chief Justice, the Attorney General and the 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 have been appointed to the office of Chief Justice of India.

The court has original jurisdiction in addition to its appellate jurisdiction. Judgments issued by 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 additional). 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.

As of 2025, the Court is currently understaffed, with only 52 permanent and 16 additional judges.

History and premises

Bombay High Court circa 1860

Bombay High Court, Fort, Mumbai

The Bombay High Court was inaugurated on 14 August 1862 by letters patent issued by Queen Victoria, dated 26 June 1862, under powers granted by the Indian High Courts Act 1861. It was one of the three High Courts in India established at the Presidency Towns, the others being Calcutta (capital of the Bengal Presidency) and Madras.

The work on the present building of the High Court was commenced in April 1871 and completed in November 1878. It was designed by British engineer Col. James A. Fuller. It is a Gothic Revival building in the Early English style. It is 562 feet (171 m) long and 187 feet (57 m) wide. To the west of the central tower are two octagonal towers. Statues of Justice and Mercy are atop this building. The first sitting in this building was on 10 January 1879.

Justice M. C. Chagla was the first Indian permanent Chief Justice of Bombay High Court after independence (1948–1958).

In 2016, it was announced that the premises of the Bombay High Court would be shifting to Bandra Kurla Complex.

The 125th anniversary of the building was marked by the release of a book, commissioned by the Bar Association, called The Bombay High Court: The Story of the Building – 1878–2003 by local historians Rahul Mehrotra and Sharada Dwivedi.

Name of the court

Although the name of the city was changed from Bombay to Mumbai in 1995, the court as an institution did not follow suit and retained the name Bombay High Court. Although, a bill to rename it as Mumbai High Court was approved by the Union Cabinet on 5 July 2016, along with the change of name of the Calcutta High Court and Madras High Court as Kolkata High Court and Chennai High Court respectively, the same is pending approval before the Parliament of India but may not be enacted for some time.

Sesquicentennial celebrations

In 2010, the High Court organized several functions to mark the completion of 150 years of the establishment of the High Court. A special postal cover was released by Milind Deora, the then Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology at the historical Central Court Hall of the High Court on 14 August 2012.

An exhibition displaying important artifacts, royal charters, stamps, old maps and other documents of historical importance was inaugurated by the then Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Prithviraj Chavan, in the Central Court Hall on 15 August 2012. The then Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh was the Chief Guest at the concluding ceremony of the year-long Sesquicentennial celebrations on 18 August 2012.

A book titled A Heritage of Judging: The Bombay High Court through one hundred and fifty years, edited by Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud, Anoop V. Mohta and Roshan S. Dalvi was published by the Maharashtra Judicial Academy.

Famous cases

In its illustrious history, the Bombay High Court has been the site for numerous noteworthy trials and court cases. Bal Gangadhar Tilak was tried a number of times in the Bombay High Court, but the most famous was his trial for sedition in the 1916 case Emperor v. Bal Gangadhar Tilak.

Controversies

Bar Council had boycotted some judges of the High Court in 1991 under the leadership of Senior Counsel Iqbal Chagla. In 2011, a couple of petitions came to be filed challenging housing societies built by judges upon plots of land reserved for other purposes.

In November 2021, the Bombay High Court issued a controversial criminal case against AstraZeneca for misinformation and misleading claims regarding the safety of their vaccines. The suit claims this misinformation is responsible for the death of the afflicted. Some rumors appeared that the suit was against Bill Gates for partial funding of AstraZeneca, but these rumors were fake. The suit is addressed to both The State of Maharashtra and AstraZeneca.

In February 2022, Pushpa Virendra Ganediwala, an additional judge, was forced to resign, after a series of poor judgements in cases related to sexual assault. As a result of her judgements, Ganediwala was denied elevation and was not made permanent, after the Supreme Court stated decided that she would be demoted to district judiciary.

In June 2024, the Bombay High Court passed an order to release Vedant Agarwal, a minor teenager, after he was involved in a hit and run case while driving a Porsche Taycan under influence of alcohol in Pune, killing 2 software engineers, under care and custody of his maternal aunt. The order received backlash from a victim's mother and from the public.

In March 2025, the Bombay High Court reduced sentence of a convicted rapist from life imprisonment to 10 years for the rape of a 1.5 year old. The judgement received extensive backlash from legal experts and former judges, as the case fell under the purview of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, which was enacted to ensure harsh punishment for culprits involved in sexual assault of minor children.

During the 2025 India–Pakistan conflict that occurred after the Pahalgam terrorist attack, the Bombay High Court was criticized for granting bail to an engineering student Khadija Sheikh, after she posted about criticism of Operation Sindoor on social media and expressed support for Pakistan. Sheikh was expelled from the institution and faced criminal charges for her Pro-Pakistan posts that were deleted later, which she petitioned to be revoked in court during her bail application.

On 21 July 2025, the Bombay High Court acquitted 12 accused involved in the 2006 terror attacks on Mumbai Suburban Railway and refused to confirm the death sentence of 5 among the accused. The acquittal sparked backlash among the victims and police officers who investigated the attack, including former ATS chief K.P. Raghuvanshi, as the bench of judges stated that the evidence relied on by the prosecution was not conclusive to convict the accused and ordered the immediate release. The Maharashtra Government filed an appeal with the Supreme Court following the verdict.

Judges

The Bombay High Court sits at Mumbai, the capital of the state of Maharashtra, and has additional benches in Aurangabad and Nagpur and Kolhapur Maharashtra, as well as Panaji in the state of Goa. It may have a maximum of 94 judges, of which 71 must be permanently appointed and 23 may be additionally appointed. Currently, it has a total of 66 Judges.

See also: List of sitting judges of High Courts of India § Bombay High Court

Judges elevated to Supreme Court

Currently serving

#	Name of the Judge	Image	Date of Appointment as Judge	Date of elevation to Supreme Court	Date of Retirement	Tenure			Immediately preceding office
						As HC Judge	As Supreme Court Judge	Total tenure (including both SC and HC)
1	Prasanna Bhalachandra Varale		18 July 2008	25 January 2024	22 June 2027	15 years, 190 days	3 years, 149 days	18 years, 340 days	32nd CJ of Karnataka HC
2	Atul Sharachchandra Chandurkar		21 June 2013	30 May 2025	6 April 2030	11 years, 342 days	4 years, 312 days	16 years, 290 days	Judge of Bombay HC

Former Judges

#	Name of the Judge	Image	Date of Appointment as Judge	Date of elevation to Supreme Court	Date of Retirement	Tenure			Immediately preceding office	Remarks
						As HC Judge	As Supreme Court Judge	Total tenure (including both SC and HC)
1	Harilal Jekisundas Kania		June 1933	26 January 1950	6 November 1951		1 year, 285 days		Elevated to Federal Court of India on 20 June 1946	1st Chief Justice of India and died in office
2	Natwarlal Harilal Bhagwati		August 1944	8 September 1952	6 June 1959		6 years, 272 days		Judge of Bombay HC
3	Pralhad Balacharya Gajendragadkar		6 March 1945	17 January 1957	15 March 1966	11 years, 317 days	9 years, 58 days	21 years, 10 days	Judge of Bombay HC	7th Chief Justice of India
4	Jayantilal Chhotalal Shah		1 March 1949	12 October 1959	21 January 1971	10 years, 225 days	11 years, 102 days	21 years, 327 days	Judge of Bombay HC	12th Chief Justice of India
5	Jaishanker Manilal Shelat		6 January 1957	24 February 1966	30 April 1973	9 years, 49 days	7 years, 66 days	16 years, 115 days	3rd CJ of Gujarat HC	Resigned from office
6	Devidas Ganpat Palekar		14 October 1961	19 July 1971	3 September 1974	9 years, 278 days	3 years, 47 days	12 years, 325 days	Judge of Bombay HC
7	Yeshwant Vishnu Chandrachud		19 March 1961	28 August 1972	11 July 1985	11 years, 162 days	12 years, 318 days	24 years, 115 days	Judge of Bombay HC	16th Chief Justice of India
8	Vidyaranya Dattatreya Tulzapurkar		21 December 1963	30 September 1977	9 March 1986	13 years, 283 days	8 years, 161 days	22 years, 79 days	Judge of Bombay HC
9	Dinshah Pirosha Madon		25 September 1967	15 March 1983	6 April 1986	15 years, 171 days	3 years, 23 days	18 years, 194 days	21st CJ of Bombay HC
10	Madhukar Hiralal Kania		4 November 1969	1 May 1987	17 November 1992	17 years, 178 days	5 years, 201 days	23 years, 14 days	24th CJ of Bombay HC	23rd Chief Justice of India
11	Parshuram Babaram Sawant		29 March 1973	6 October 1989	29 June 1995	16 years, 191 days	5 years, 267 days	22 years, 93 days	Judge of Bombay HC
12	Sam Piroj Bharucha		19 September 1977	1 July 1992	5 May 2002	14 years, 286 days	9 years, 309 days	24 years, 229 days	13th CJ of Karnataka HC	30th Chief Justice of India
13	Sujata Manohar		23 January 1978	8 November 1994	27 August 1999	16 years, 289 days	4 years, 293 days	21 years, 217 days	14th CJ of Kerala HC
14	Sudhakar Panditrao Kurdukar		25 April 1978	29 March 1996	15 January 2000	17 years, 339 days	3 years, 293 days	21 years, 266 days	22nd CJ of Punjab & Haryana HC
15	Sam Nariman Variava		21 November 1986	15 March 2000	7 November 2005	13 years, 115 days	5 years, 238 days	18 years, 352 days	19th CJ of Delhi HC
16	Bellur Narayanswamy Srikrishna		30 July 1990	3 October 2002	20 May 2006	12 years, 65 days	5 years, 230 days	15 years, 295 days	21st CJ of Kerala HC
17	Sarosh Homi Kapadia		8 October 1991	18 December 2003	28 September 2012	12 years, 71 days	8 years, 286 days	20 years, 357 days	2nd CJ of Uttarakhand HC	38th Chief Justice of India
18	Vikas Sridhar Sirpurkar		9 November 1992	12 January 2007	21 August 2011	14 years, 64 days	4 years, 228 days	18 years, 286 days	32nd CJ of Calcutta HC
19	Hemant Laxman Gokhale		20 January 1994	30 April 2010	10 March 2014	16 years, 100 days	3 years, 315 days	20 years, 50 days	35th CJ of Madras HC
20	Ranjana Prakash Desai		15 April 1996	13 September 2011	29 October 2014	15 years, 151 days	3 years, 47 days	18 years, 198 days	Judge of Bombay HC
21	Sharad Arvind Bobde		29 March 2000	12 April 2013	23 April 2021	13 years, 14 days	8 years, 12 days	21 years, 26 days	21st CJ of Madhya Pradesh HC	47th Chief Justice of India
22	Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar		29 March 2000	13 May 2016	29 July 2022	16 years, 45 days	6 years, 78 days	22 years, 123 days	22nd CJ of Madhya Pradesh HC
23	Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud		29 March 2000	13 May 2016	10 November 2024	16 years, 45 days	8 years, 182 days	24 years, 227 days	44th CJ of Allahabad HC	50th Chief Justice of India
24	Bhushan Ramkrishna Gavai		14 November 2003	24 May 2019	23 November 2025	15 years, 191 days	6 years, 184 days	22 years, 10 days	Judge of Bombay HC	52nd Chief Justice of India
25	Abhay Shreeniwas Oka		29 August 2003	31 August 2021	24 May 2025	18 years, 2 days	3 years, 267 days	21 years, 269 days	30th CJ of Karnataka HC

List of Chief justice of Bombay High Court

#	Picture	Chief Justice	Took office
1		Sir William Syer	1798	Died 1802
2		Sir James Mackintosh	1803
3		Sir John Henry Newbolt	1811
4		Sir Alexander Anstruther	1812	Died 1819
5		Sir D. Evans	1820	Died 1821
6		Sir Edward West	1822	Became Chief Justice of Supreme Court, 1823
6		Sir Edward West	1823	first year was in the Recorder's Court
7		Sir James Dewar	1829
8		Sir Herbert Abingdon Draper Compton	1831
9		Sir John Wither Awdry	1839
10		Sir Henry Roper	1840
11		Sir David Pollock	1846
12		Sir Thomas Erskine Perry	1847
13		Sir William Yardley	1852
14		Sir Matthew Richard Sausse	1859	became Bombay High Court Chief Judge in 1862
14		Sir Mathew Richard Sausse	1862	1866
15		Sir Richard Couch	1866	1870
16		Sir Michael Roberts Westropp	1870	1882
17		Sir Charles Sargent	1882	1895
18		Sir Charles Frederick Farran	1895	1898
19		Sir Louis Addin Kershaw	1898	1899
20		Sir Lawrence Hugh Jenkins	1899	1908
21		Sir Basil Scott	1908	1919
22		Sir Norman Cranstoun Macleod	1919	1926
23		Sir Amberson Barrington Marten	1926	1930
24		Sir John William Fisher Beaumont	1930	1943
25		Sir Leonard Stone	1943	1947
After Independence
26		Sir Leonard Stone	1947	1948
27		Mahommedali Currim Chagla	1948	1958
28		Hashmatrai Khubchand Chainani	1958	1965
29		Yeshwant Shripad Tambe	1965	4 February 1966
			5 February 1966	31 July 1966
30		Sohrab Peshotan Kotval	1 August 1966	26 September 1972
31		K. Kalyandas Desai	27 September 1972	26 October 1972
32		Ramanlal Maneklal Kantawala	27 October 1972	5 October 1978
33		B. N. Deshmukh	6 October 1978	18 November 1980
34		Venkat Shrinivas Deshpande	19 November 1980	11 January 1981
			12 January 1981	11 August 1982
35		Dinshah Pirosha Madon	12 August 1982	30 August 1982
			31 August 1982	14 March 1983
36		Madhukar Narhar Chandurkar	15 March 1983	14 March 1984
37		Konda Madhava Reddy	8 April 1984	21 October 1985
38		Madhukar Hiralal Kania	23 June 1986	1 May 1987
39		Chittatosh Mookerjee	2 November 1987	31 December 1990
40		Prabodh Dinkarrao Desai	7 January 1991	13 December 1992
41		Manoj Kumar Mukherjee	9 January 1993	14 December 1993
42		Sujata Manohar	15 January 1994	7 November 1994
43		Anandamoy Bhattacharjee	21 April 1994	1 April 1995
44		Manharlal Bhikhalal Shah	2 August 1995	9 December 1998
45		Yogesh Kumar Sabharwal	3 February 1999	28 January 2000
46		Bisheshwar Prasad Singh	31 March 2000	14 December 2001
47		Chunilal Karsandas Thakker	31 December 2001	7 June 2004
48		Dalveer Bhandari	25 July 2004	27 October 2005
49		Kshitij R. Vyas	25 February 2006	18 July 2006
50		Harjit Singh Bedi	3 October 2006	12 January 2007
51		Swatanter Kumar	31 March 2007	30 December 2009
52		Anil Ramesh Dave	11 February 2010	29 April 2010
53		Mohit Shantilal Shah	26 June 2010	8 September 2015
54		Dhirendra Hiralal Waghela	15 February 2016	10 August 2016
55		Manjula Chellur	22 August 2016	4 December 2017
56		Vijaya Tahilramani	5 December 2017	12 August 2018
57		Naresh Harishchandra Patil	13 August 2018	28 October 2018
			29 October 2018	6 April 2019
58		Pradeep Nandrajog	7 April 2019	23 February 2020
59		B. P. Dharmadhikari	24 February 2020	19 March 2020
			20 March 2020	27 April 2020
60		Dipankar Datta	28 April 2020	11 December 2022
61		Ramesh Deokinandan Dhanuka	28 May 2023	30 May 2023
62		Nitin Jamdar	30 May 2023	28 July 2023
63		Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya	29 July 2023	20 January 2025
64		Alok Aradhe	21 January 2025	28 August 2025
65		Shree Chandrashekhar	29 August 2025	Present

Principal seat and benches

The court has jurisdiction over the states of Maharashtra, Goa and the Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The court has benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Panaji. Bombay High Court will set up its fourth bench in Kolhapur from August 18, 2025.

Bench	Judge strength	Territorial jurisdiction
Bombay(Principal)	30	Mumbai (City), Mumbai (Suburban), Thane, Palghar, Nashik, Pune, Raigad, Dadra & Nagar Haveli at Silvassa, Daman, Diu.
Aurangabad	18	Chh. Sambhajinagar, Ahilyanagar, Beed, Dhule, Jalna, Jalgaon, Latur, Nanded, Dharashiv, Parbhani, Nandurbar, Hingoli
Nagpur	17	Nagpur, Akola, Amravati, Bhandara, Buldhana, Chandrapur, Wardha, Yavatmal, Gondia, Gadchiroli, Washim
Kolhapur	04	Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sangli, Sindhudurg, Solapur
Panaji	04	North Goa (Panaji), South Goa (Margao)
Total	74*

*TBC

Nagpur bench

Nagpur is an industrial and commercial city situated in the centre of India. Formerly, it was the capital of the former State of CP & Berar, later old Madhya Pradesh and now it is the sub-capital of the State of Maharashtra. A full-fledged High Court was established at Nagpur on 9 January 1936 and contracted by Sir Sobha Singh. Later it was included as a separate bench in the Bombay High Court jurisdiction after the formation of the state of Maharashtra in 1960.

History

Sir Gilbert Stone, a Judge of the Madras High Court was appointed as first Chief Justice. The foundation stone of the new building (present High Court building) was laid by late Sir Hyde Gowan on 9–1–1937. The building was designed by Mr. H.A.N. Medd, Resident Architect. It was constructed at a cost of Rs.737,746/-.The building consisted of two stories with a garden courtyard in the centre. The outside dimensions are 400 ft x 230 ft. The original design provided for a main central dome rising 109 feet above ground land, the remainder of the building being approximately 52 feet in height. The building has been constructed with sandstone. The building has Ashlar stone facing and brick hearting. The flooring in the corridors and offices is of Sikosa and Shahabad flag stones. The building is declared open on 6 January 1940. On the opening ceremony the Viceroy of India described this building as a poem in stone. The High Court has a fairly well planned garden on the eastern as well as western sides.

The High Court of Judicature at Nagpur continued to be housed in this building till the reorganisation of states in 1956. With effect from 1–11–1956, eight Marathi speaking districts of Vidarbha formed part of the greater bilingual State of Bombay which came into existence. Remaining fourteen Hindi speaking districts of the former State of Madhya Pradesh became part of the newly constituted State of Madhya Pradesh with the capital at Bhopal. The High Court of Madhya Pradesh was treated as the successor of the former High Court at Nagpur.

New building

A bench of the High Court at Bombay began to sit in this building at Nagpur with effect from 1-11-1956 and continues to do so even after the formation of the State of Maharashtra on 1–5–1960. During the year 1960 the strength of this Bench consisted of four Honourable Judges.

The extension of High Court building consists of two annex buildings on both sides of the existing building viz., North and South Wings. For this Government of Maharashtra has sanctioned Rs. 1,2,926,605/- on dated 21 March 1983. 'South Wing' houses various utilities for the public, i.e. litigants and the Bar as well as High Court Government Pleader's Establishment including Standing Counsel for Central Government and 'A Panel Counsels, and also for the establishment. In the North Wing, it is proposed to accommodate additional Court Halls, Chambers of the Hobble Judges, Judges' Library and the office.

Presently, the strength of this Bench consists of 10 Honourable Judges and total employees are 412.

Aurangabad bench

The Aurangabad bench was established in 1982. Initially, only a few districts of Maharashtra were under the Aurangabad bench. Subsequently, in 1988, Ahmednagar & other districts were attached to the bench. The bench at Aurangabad has more than 13 judges. The jurisdiction of the Aurangabad Bench is over Aurangabad, Dhule, Nandurbar, Jalna, Jalgaon, Beed, Parbhani, Latur & Osmanabad. The bench also has a Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa office. The present building of bench is situated in huge premises. The garden is beautifully maintained. Lush green grass invites the attention of any passerby. The HC bench at Aurangabad is approximately 4 km from the Aurangabad Airport and around 6 km from the central bus stand. The new building has 13 court halls in all now including two new ones. All the court halls are on the first floor of the building, while the registry of the Court is on the ground floor. The Aurangabad bench has a strong Bar of more than 1000 advocates, but the Aurangabad bench does not have jurisdiction over company law matters.

The Aurangabad Bench celebrated its 28th anniversary on 27 August 2009.

History

Due to the continued demand of the people of Marathwada region for the establishment of a permanent Bench of the High Court at Aurangabad under sub-section (2) of Sec. 51 of the Act, the State Government first took up the issue with the then Chief Justice R. M. Kantawala in 1977. On 22 March 1978, the State Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution supporting a demand for the establishment of a permanent Bench of the High Court at Aurangabad to the effect : "With a view to save huge expenses and to reduce the inconvenience of the people of the Marathwada and Pune regions in connection with legal proceedings, this Assembly recommends to the Government to make a request to the President to establish a permanent Bench of the Bombay High Court having jurisdiction in Marathwada and Pune regions, one at Aurangabad and the other at Pune."

The said demand for the constitution of a permanent Bench of the High Court at Aurangabad was supported by the State Bar Council of Maharashtra, the Advocates' Association of Western India, several bar associations and people in general. It is necessary here to mention that the resolution as originally moved made a demand for the setting up of a permanent Bench of the High Court of Bombay at Aurangabad for the Marathwada region, and there was, no reference to Pune which was added by way of amendment. Initially, the State Government recommended to the Central Government in 1978 to establish two permanent Benches under sub-sec. (2) of Section 51 of the Act, one at Aurangabad and the other at Pune, but later in 1981 confined its recommendation to Aurangabad alone.

The State Government thereafter took a Cabinet decision in January 1981 to establish a permanent Bench of the High Court at Aurangabad and this was conveyed by the Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, Law & Judiciary Department, communicated by his letter dated 3 February 1981 to the Registrar and he was requested, with the permission of the Chief Justice, to submit proposals regarding accommodation for the Court and residential bungalows for the Judges, staff, furniture, etc. necessary for setting up the Bench. As a result of this communication, the Chief Justice wrote to the Chief Minister on 26 February 1981 signifying his consent to the establishment of a permanent Bench at Aurangabad. After adverting to the fact that his predecessors had opposed such a move and had indicated, amongst other things, that such a step involved, as it does, breaking up of the integrity of the institution and the Bar, which would necessarily impair the quality and quantity of the disposals.

It, however, became evident by the middle of June 1981 that the Central Government would take time in reaching a decision on the proposal for the establishment of a permanent Bench under sub-sec. (2) of Section 51 of the Act at Aurangabad as the question involved a much larger issue, viz. the principles to be adopted and the criterion laid down for the establishment of permanent Benches of High Courts generally. This meant that there would be an inevitable delay in securing the concurrence of the Central Government and the issuance of a Presidential Notification under sub-sec. (2) of S. 51 of the Act. On 19 June 1981, the State Government accordingly took a Cabinet decision pending the establishment of a permanent Bench under sub-sec. (2) of S. 51 of the Act at Aurangabad for the Marathwada region, resort be had to the provisions of sub-section (3) thereof. On 20 June 1981, the Secretary to the Government of Maharashtra, Law & Judiciary Department wrote to the Registrar stating that there was a possibility of a delay in securing concurrence of the Central Government and the issuance of a notification by the President under subsection (2) of S. 51 of the Act for the establishment of a permanent Bench at Auangabad and in order to tide over the difficulty, the provisions of sub-sec. (3) of Section 51 of the Act may be resorted to and he, therefore, requested the Chief Justice to favour the Government With his views on the matter at an early date. On 5 July 1981, the Law Secretary waited on the Chief Justice in that connection. On 7 July 1981 the Chief Justice wrote a letter to the Chief Minister in which he stated that the Law Secretary had conveyed to him the decision of the State Government to have a Circuit Bench at Auangabad under sub-sec. (3) of Section 51 pending the decision of the Central Government to establish a permanent Bench there under sub-section (2) of S. 51 of the Act. The Chief Justice then added: "I agree that some such step is necessary in view of the preparations made by the Government at huge costs and the mounting expectations of the people there."

Formation

On 20 July 1981, the Law Secretary addressed a letter to the Registrar requesting him to forward, with the permission of the Chief Justice, a proposal as is required under sub-section (3) of S. 51 for the setting up of a Bench at Auangabad . In reply to the same, the Registrar by his letter dated 24 July 1981 conveyed that the Chief Justice agreed with the suggestion of the State Government that action had to be taken under sub-section (3) of S. 51 of the Act for which the approval of the Governor was necessary and he enclosed a copy of the draft order which the Chief Justice proposed to issue under sub-section (3) of S. 51 of the Act. On 10 Aug. 1981, the Law Secretary conveyed to the Registrar the approval of the Governor. On 27 Aug. 1981, the Chief Justice issued an order under sub-section (3) of S. 51 of the Act to the effect: "In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (3) of S. 51 of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (No. 37 of 1956) and all other powers enabling him on this behalf, the Hon'ble the Chief Justice, with the approval of the Governor of Maharashtra, is pleased to appoint Aurangabad as a place at which the Hon'ble Judges and Division Courts of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay may also sit." This is the history of how the Aurangabad Bench of the Bombay High Court was constituted. The Constitution of the Bench by The Hon’ble Chief Justice V.S.Deshpande then came to be challenged before the Hon’ble Supreme Court. The Petition filed by the State of Maharashtra was allowed and the people's aspirations from Marathwada were recognized. The Judgment is a reported one (State of Maharashtra v. Narain Shyamrao Puranik) in AIR 1983 Supreme Court 46.

Goa bench

When the High Court of Bombay constituted a bench in Porvorim, Goa, Justice G.F Couto was appointed its first Goan permanent judge. Justice G.D. Kamath was appointed as judge in 1983 and later in 1996 as Chief Justice of the Gujarat High Court. Justice E.S da Silva was elevated in 1990 and was a judge of this court till his retirement in 1995. Justice R.K. Batta and Justice R.M.S. Khandeparkar were Judges of the Goa bench for 8 and 12 years respectively. Justice F.I Rebello, was appointed Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court in 2010 and retired in 2011. Justice Nelson Britto was Judge for five years. Justice A.P Lavande, Justice F.M.Reis, and Justice M.S. Sonak, were senior lawyers who practiced in the Goa Bench before their elevation. Presently Goa has one lady judge, Justice Anuja Prabhudesai. Justice A Prabhudesai and retired Justice Nutan Sardesai who were both District Judges.

History

Prior to the annexation of Goa, Daman and Diu the highest Court for the then Portuguese State of India was the Tribunal da Relação de Goa functioning at Panjim. Originally established in 1554, the Relação de Goa used to serve as the high court of appeal for all the Portuguese East Indies territories of the Indian Ocean and the Far East, including what are now Mozambique, Macau and East Timor, besides India itself. The Relação de Goa was abolished when a Court of Judicial Commissioner was established w.e.f. 16 December 1963 under Goa-Daman & Diu (Judicial Commissioner Court) Regulation, 1963. In May 1964 an Act was passed by the Parliament which conferred upon the Court of Judicial Commissioner, some powers of the High Court for the purposes of the Constitution of India.

Parliament by an Act extended the jurisdiction of High Court at Bombay to the Union territory of Goa Daman & Diu and established a permanent Bench of that High Court at Panaji on 30.10.1982

From its inception, the Hon'ble Shri Justice Dr. G.F.Couto who was at that time acting Judicial Commissioner was elevated to the Bench of High Court of Bombay. The Hon'ble Shri Justice G.D.Kamat was elevated to the Bench on 29.8.1983.

With the passing of Goa, Daman & Re-organization Act, 1987 by the Parliament conferring Statehood to Goa, the High Court of Bombay became the common High Court for the states of Maharashtra and Goa and the Union territories of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu w.e.f. 30.5.1987.

First Relocation

The High Court was shifted from the old building of Tribunal da Relação to Lyceum Complex at Altinho, Panaji and started functioning there from 3.11.1997. The main building at the said Complex, constructed in the year 1925 by the Portuguese Government, was renovated by the Goa state government and inaugurated by the Hon'ble Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Shri M.B.Shah on 2.10.1997.The Hon'ble Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, Shri Y. K. Sabharwal, inaugurated the 2nd building on 9.9.1999. Both these buildings now house several departments of the Bombay high court – panaji bench.

Second Relocation

Due to the space crunch in the lyseum complex, a new building complex is being built in alto – betim porvorim region in Porvorim. The new building was inaugurated on 27 March 2021. The first court hearing in the new building was presided on by the divisional bench composed of Chief Justice of the Bombay high court Dipankar Datta and Justice Mahesh Sonak on 17 August 2021.

Kolhapur Bench

The Bombay High Court got a new circuit bench in Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra, with its sittings commencing on August 18. The establishment of this bench made it the fourth such bench for the High Court in the state.

A notification in this regard was issued on Friday, August 01, 2025 by High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe.

"I, Alok Aradhe, Chief Justice of the High Court at Bombay, with the approval of the Governor of Maharashtra, appoint Kolhapur as a place at which Judges and Division Courts of the High Court may also sit, with effect from August 18, 2025," the notification said.

The new Bench is likely to have jurisdiction over six districts — Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg (last two located in coastal Konkan region).

Case information

The Case Status and Causelists of Bombay High Court is available on its official website at www.bombayhighcourt.nic.in. The orders and judgments from the year 2005 are also available on the website.

As of March 2012 the High Court has 315,988 civil cases and 45,960 criminal cases pending. At the same time, the District and subordinate courts under the Bombay High Court have a total of 3,179,475 pending cases.

See also

• High courts of India
• List of chief justices of the Bombay High Court
• List of chief justices of the Supreme Court of Bombay

External links

• Official WebSite
• Bar Association of Bombay
• Case Status System
• Order/Judgments Retrieval System
• High Court Bharti 2024
• List of Designated Senior Advocates[link points to an access-restricted file]