Bombay High Court

 Bombay High Court

The process of the establishment of modern day judiciary in India started during British rule. The British conquest of India began from Bengal. In the year 1857 the Battle of Plassey was fought between the British forces led by Robert Clive and army of Bengal commanded by Mir Jafar, the Commander of Siraj-u-Daula, the then Nawab of Bengal. Due to the treachery of Mir Jafar it was possible for British to register victory in this Battle of Plassey. After the Battle of Plassey Mir Jafar was appointed as the Nawab of Bengal who was controlled by British. In 1760 he was replaced and Mir Qasim was appointed as the Nawab. He too was replaced which resulted into the Battle of Buxar in 1764. Finally after the Regulating Act of 1773 Bengal went under the direct control of British East India Company.

During the British rule as mentioned above the modern judiciary was introduced in India. Even before the conquest of Bengal some courts were set up by the British but there jurisdiction was limited to their factories. For instance, in 1726 the Mayor’ Courts were set up in the cities of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. In 1772 Adalats were established in order to oversee the criminal and civil matters. After the enactment of Regulating Act of 1773 the Supreme Court was established at Calcutta. In 1801 the Supreme Court was set up at Madras and in 1823 was formed the Supreme Court at Bombay.

In the year 1862 the Bombay High Court was established at Bombay. In the same year High Courts were formed in Calcutta and Madras as well.

At present the Bombay High Court caters to the judicial needs of the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar, Haveli and Diu and Daman. The main building of Bombay High Court is located in South Mumbai adjacent to the building of University of Mumbai. The work on the construction of this building started in 1971 and completed in 1878. The first hearing took place in the year 1879 in this building.

The Bombay High Court has Benches in Aurangabad  Nagpur and Panaji.

Sir Matthew Richard Sausse was the first Chief Justice of Bombay High Court. He served as the Chief Justice from 1862 to 1866. He was born in Carrick-on-Suir town in Tipperary county in southern parts of Ireland. He was born in 1809 and was Roamn Catholic by faith. He had completed his graduation from the Trinity College in Dublin. Dublin is the capital of Ireland.

After independence M. C. Chagla or Mahomedali Curim Chagla an Indian became the Chief Justice of Bombay High Court in the year 1948. M. C. Chagla was born on 30 September 1900 in Bombay city. His family belonged to Isamaili Khoja sect of Islam . He was the student of St. Xavier’s College in South Mumbai and went on to study in Lincoln College, Oxford, United Kingdom. At one point of time he had worked with Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar in Government Law College (GLC) in Mumbai as the Professor of Law. He held many important posts in the government of independent India including that of Cabinet Minister.

Some of the Judges of Bombay High Court who were appointed as the Judges of Supreme Court in recent times are Dhananjay Chandrachud, Bhushan Ramchandra Gavai and Abhay Oak.

Thee present historic building of Bombay High Court and premises is proving to be insufficient and hence, the Bombay High Court might be shifted to Bandra-Kurla Complex in Bandra (East).