The Bombay High Court expressed its displeasure on Monday over the delay by the Maharashtra State Government in allotting land for the new high court building in Bandra.

Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Arif Doctor, constituting the division bench of the high court, remarked that the lives of court officers were at peril due to the poor condition of the high court building.

Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya highlighted the well-known state of disrepair of the Bombay High Court building, along with its annex building. He expressed concern over the hazardous working conditions faced by court officers, emphasizing the lack of storage space, restricted movement areas, and the poor condition of the stairs within the premises.

The bench also voiced dissatisfaction regarding the state government's failure to update the revenue records.

The high court was hearing a contempt petition filed by Advocate Ahmad Abdi, prompted by the high court's directive to the state government regarding the allocation of land for the new high court building.

Abdi had initiated a public interest litigation (PIL) petition in 2012, emphasizing the urgent need for a new building for the high court. In response, the high court directed the State government to provide a sizable and suitable plot of land for the construction of a new complex for the high court. However, despite the court's order in 2019, the State government had not undertaken any actions towards fulfilling this directive. Abdi alleged that the State was in contempt of the high court's order.

Today, Advocate Abdi asserted that there had been no progress on the ground, and the state was merely making empty promises. In response, the high court scheduled the matter for further hearing on March 28 and instructed the state to submit an affidavit detailing the actions taken towards allocating land for the new high court building.

The state informed the high court on October 11, 2023, that the demarcation of land for the new high court had been completed. In June 2023, the Maharashtra government formally requested the Registrar of the Bombay High Court to designate a representative to facilitate the early possession of a 30-acre land in the suburbs of Mumbai for the construction of a new high court complex.

On March 30, 2023, the Maharashtra government informed the Bombay High Court of its decision to allocate 30.16 acres of land in Bandra for the construction of a new high court building.