CJI Bhushan Gavai Inaugurates Fifth Bench of Bombay High Court at Kolhapur

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai inaugurated the new and fifth bench of the Bombay High Court at Kolhapur on Sunday, marking a significant development in the judicial infrastructure of Western Maharashtra. Currently, the Bombay High Court operates its principal seat in Mumbai, with additional benches located in Nagpur and Aurangabad, as well as a separate bench in Goa. The establishment of the Kolhapur bench now makes it the fifth bench under the jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court.

Long-Standing Demand for Kolhapur Bench

The creation of the Kolhapur bench addresses demands raised for over two decades by litigants and lawyers from the region, who were previously required to travel to Mumbai, the principal seat of the High Court, for their legal matters. This new bench aims to ease the burden and provide greater accessibility to justice for residents of Western Maharashtra.

Jurisdiction and Administrative Details

The newly formed Kolhapur bench will have jurisdiction over six districts:Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg. The formal notification appointing Kolhapur as a circuit bench was issued by Bombay High Court’s Chief Justice Alok Aradhe on August 1.

Dignitaries at the Inauguration

The event was graced by the presence of Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, among other dignitaries. Justice Shivkumar Dige, formerly posted at the Principal seat in Mumbai, has been transferred to preside as the single-judge at the Kolhapur bench. He was present at the inauguration, seated in his courtroom in the presence of all the attendees.