Explore land availability at Goregaon instead of Bandra for new High Court complex: Bombay High Court to State

Advocate General Birendra Saraf today informed the Court that the total area of the proposed High Court building is approximately 30.16 acres, with a portion of 13.73 acres expected to be available for possession by January 2025.

The Court pointed out that the State of Chhattisgarh had allotted 100 acres of land for the new High Court building.

Saraf highlighted that the proposed land in Goregaon was larger than the present alloted land but was rejected by the High Court due to accessibility issues.

The petitioner then pointed out that the Goregaon land was vacant and spanned 300 acres.

Saraf, however, informed the Court that a large part of the land was allotted to Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) and that the land was not acceptable to the High Court.

The Bench, however, expressed interest in revisiting the possibility of utilizing the Goregaon land, particularly if it can be accessed via the proposed coastal road.

Accordingly, the Court requested the government to provide a rough sketch illustrating the accessibility from the proposed coastal road.

AG Saraf then proposed discussing this matter further at an administrative meeting with government officials and also pointed out the work already undertaken at Bandra.

The Court, however, said it will not stop the government from declaring the currently allotted area at Bandra as a special area for public project of vital importance.

"This (Goregaon land) is only a possibility to explore," it said.