Demand is based on the principles laid down in the preamble of the Constitution to secure social, economic and political justice, say advocates
Bombay High Court. File pic
The much-desired demand of advocates practising in Southern Maharashtra, for setting up a circuit bench of Bombay High Court in Kolhapur, once again gained momentum after the Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray wrote to the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court, recently (second week of March), requesting the same.
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Six districts of Southern Maharashtra - Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Solapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurga had been demanding the setting up of the circuit bench of Bombay High court for the past 35 years. However, it yielded no results to date, adversely impacting over 8,000 practising advocates in these districts and a large number of litigants, whose fight for justice, continues.
Interestingly, a delegation of 50 practising advocates and members of Bombay High Court Bench Action Committee of six districts met Chief Justice of Bombay High Court Dipankar Datta and appraised him about the reason for setting up the circuit bench in Kolhapur and people’s representative’s from these districts would meet the Chief Justice, soon.
Girish Khadake and Jamshed Mistry
Excerpts of the CM letter
In his letter, dated March 8, Thackeray, referred to letters dated (November 12, 2012, September 7, 2013, July 17, 2015, February 28, 2018, and June 19, 2019, written by erstwhile Chief Ministers of State of Maharashtra to the erstwhile Chief Justices of Bombay High Court in connection with establishing a Bench / Circuit bench of the Bombay High Court at Kolhapur for exercising jurisdictions of the six districts.
The letter further states, “After the establishment of the Bench of Bombay High Court at Aurangabad in the year 1984, there has been consistent demand for establishing the Bench of the Bombay High Court in the southern region of the State of Maharashtra covering the aforementioned districts.”
“I would like to draw your kind attention to the paragraphs 1.8,1.9 and 1.10 of Chapter 1 of the 230th Report of the Law Commission of India (see box) which has recommended the establishment of new benches of the High Courts to cater to the needs of the litigants in the state. I would like to place on record that the issue is consistently being raised in the State Legislature by the representatives of the people.”
I, therefore, feel that the demand of establishing a Bench of Bombay High Court at Kolhapur needs to be re-examined and reconsidered favourably at your end in the interest of the public at large. I would be thankful if a Circuit Bench of the High Court of Bombay is established at Kolhapur till the establishment of a regular Bench at the earliest. This will facilitate achieving the goal of delivering justice at the doorsteps of the litigants and fulfilment of the long-standing demand,” the letter concludes.
Why bench is required in Kolhapur
Advocate Girish Khadake, President Kolhapur District Bar Association and Bombay High Court Bench Action Committee of six districts said, “The demand for establishment of High Court bench at Kolhapur is a long-standing one. We have been raising concerns for the same for the past 35 years. The litigants and approximately 8,000 lawyers from (six districts), have to come to Bombay High Court, in Mumbai, for filing any appeal in case of civil, criminal and for filing writ petitions, including bail applications. This is not only time consuming but also is an additional financial burden on litigants. The distance from the districts and talukas under these districts from the principal seat at Mumbai ranges from 300 km to 500 km, which is more than the distance for which the Aurangabad bench is established was back in 1984. Moreover, nearly 25 per cent of the cases at the Principal seat of Bombay High Court are from the Kolhapur region.”
“The said demand is based on the principles laid down in the preamble of the Constitution to secure social, economic and political justice. It is further based on Article 21 and Article 39 A of the Constitution of India which enshrine equal opportunity for justice to all the citizens of India. Law commission of India headed by then Dr Justice A.R. Lakshmanan had recommended de-centralisation of the work of the High Court by way of establishment of more benches in states. The experience of other states of the establishment of benches in Karnataka at Dharwad and Gulbarga with far less coverage of the area, population and litigation as compared to Kolhapur is a recent example that justified our demand. It is only recently that, even a similar bench with far less area, population and litigation as compared to Kolhapur is established at Jalpaiguri in West Bengal,” said Advocate Khadake.
“Kolhapur has a long tradition of judicial establishments. In the year 1937 for the Deccan States, a Supreme Court was established at Kolhapur, and Kolhapur is the central place for the establishment of benches for 6 districts of Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg and Solapur. The cost of litigation in Mumbai is prohibitive for litigants from these six districts. About 50 per cent geographical area covered by the principal seat at Mumbai consists of districts for which a demand for the establishment of benches is being made at Kolhapur. The percentage of cases at the principal seat of Bombay High Court from the Kolhapur region is about 25 per cent. The establishment of a bench of Bombay High Court would lead to the possibility of the personal presence of litigants at the time of hearing of their cases which would lead to justice not only being done but seen to have been quickly and effectively done,” Khadake said.
When asked the reason for insisting on a circuit bench than a permanent bench, Khadake added, “A circuit bench (also known as circuit courts) are temporary courts, which hold proceedings for a select few months in a year, and the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court has the power to start such a circuit bench within no time. Moreover, once a circuit bench starts operation, in future, the same can be converted into a permanent bench. Kolhapur Municipal Corporation has also reserved a few acres of land for construction of a new Bombay High Court bench.”
Mumbai advocates support the cause
“There has been a constant demand from the lawyers from the Kolhapur region in this regard. The earlier Chief Justice of Bombay High Court had given such assurance to the lawyers as they were on strike for a long time. If the bench is set up at Kolhapur, it would serve the cause of justice, because the people from Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri etc, will have easy access to justice which is a fundamental right under the Constitution of India. It would also reduce the burden on the Principal Bench at Mumbai. In the absence of a Bench at Kolhapur, the people from these districts have to travel to Mumbai, crossing almost more than 400 to 600 kilometres. Besides setting up a new bench, what is more important is that the vacancies of HC judges be filled in time because, during the last 8-9 years, the High Court of Bombay has never worked to its full sanctioned strength as there are no regular appointments to fill in the vacancies. Speedy justice, which is a fundamental right under the Constitution, will become a reality if the Bench is set up at Kolhapur,” said Advocate Rajeshwar Panchal, who practices in Bombay High Court.
Advocate Dinesh Tiwari, echoed a similar concern and said, “The question of starting another bench or circuit bench of the High Court in Kolhapur is very old and it requires to be addressed in no time. It is a matter of fact that many litigants who are staying in and around Kolhapur are not able to approach the High Court for various reasons including the distance. If the High Court bench is started in Kolhapur, it will serve justice to many people who would be able to save cost and time by not requiring them to visit Bombay. At the same time, the condition of the working of the Courts is required to be drastically improved as there are not enough judges to do the hearing of the matters. As of now more than 3 crores cases are pending in Maharashtra whereas the number of judicial officers is about 20,000 in numbers which are too small to conduct 3 crores matters.”
“Most of the litigants are discouraged from approaching the court of law because of the notorious notion in their mind that justice is not going to be done promptly. It's aptly said that justice delayed is justice denied. Ironically, the state is not willing to pay the necessary money for creating the good infrastructure to dispense justice as the state is reluctant to spend the money on the appointment of judges and required staff for delivering justice. The pace at which digitalisation is happening in the court leaves many things to be desired. There are hundreds of mistakes in the working of the court which requires immediate attention if the state wants to administer justice to the masses at large,” added Advocate Tiwari.
Advocate Jamshed Mistry, who also practice in Bombay High Court, said, “Undoubtedly, the expansion of the higher judiciary in the state of Maharashtra, should be an ongoing process and that would certainly include setting up additional benches as per the need and requirement, both as far as population, convenience for litigants and pendency of several court cases and therefore setting up additional bench, especially in Kolhapur would be a step in the right direction. It is a known fact that the judiciary is overburdened and would require all possible assistance in terms of setting up infrastructure facilities, in terms of setting up new courts, especially the lower courts and tribunals, to meet the current backlogs and increase in the number of cases filed and therefore even current judicial vacancies need to be filled in at the earliest, for speedy justice.”
Solicitor Stuti Galiya, said, “The Bombay High Court is the high court of the states of Maharashtra, Goa, and the union territories Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated in Mumbai with three benches seated in Nagpur, Aurangabad and Panaji. There are various matters, such as public interest litigation, writ petitions, matters falling within the pecuniary jurisdiction etc, which are triable exclusively by High Courts. There are various tier-II cities in Maharashtra, such as Pune, Nashik, Kolhapur, Navi Mumbai, etc, where there has been a spur in industrialisation and which have good infrastructure facilities. From an administrative convenience perspective and to reduce the burden on the High Court, the need of the hour is to probably constitute additional benches. Today, there are millions of cases pending before various courts in India. Many of such cases are pending for more than 10 years, which results in the common man getting frustrated and exhausted with the snail-paced justice system in the country. Creating more benches will help address this problem to some extent as it will result in cases being distributed. This will reduce the burden being placed on the Bombay High Court and help with the speedy disposal of cases. Litigants will not have to travel to Mumbai for hearing of their cases, which will result in administrative convenience from the litigant's perspective.”
What does the Law Commission state
Paragraphs 1.8,1.9 and 1.10 of Chapter 1 of the 230th Report of the Law Commission of India
Para 1.8: It is also necessary that the work of the High Courts is decentralized, that is, more Benches are established in all States. If there is a manifold increase in the strength of the judges and the staff, all cannot be housed in one campus. Therefore, the establishment of new Benches is necessary. It is also in the interest of the litigants. The Benches should be so established that a litigant is not required to travel long.
Para 1.9: The new establishments will indeed require money, but it is necessary as a development measure, particularly, when efforts are being made for all-round development of the country. Therefore, money should not be a problem. We have to watch and protect the interest of the litigants. We must always keep in mind that the existence of judges and advocates is because of the litigants and they are there to serve their cause only.
Para 1.10: Sometimes, some advocates object to creation of new Benches and selection of new sites for the construction of new buildings. But they raise objections in their personal, limited interest. The creation of new Benches is certainly beneficial for the litigants and the lawyers and a beginning has to be made somewhere.
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