High Court of Bombay to Establish a New Judicial Bench in Kolhapur Beginning August 18
The Bombay High Court has announced the establishment of its fifth bench in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, set to commence operations on August 18, 2025 [1][3]. This new bench will serve the districts of Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg, reducing the travel burden for litigants and legal professionals who currently have to travel approximately 380-400 km to Mumbai for hearings [1][3].
The decision, made by Chief Justice Alok Aradhe with the approval of the Maharashtra Governor, addresses a demand that has persisted for nearly four decades from Kolhapur's legal community and the public [1][2]. The High Court currently operates permanent benches in Mumbai (principal), Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panaji (Goa) [1][3].
The new bench in Kolhapur is expected to improve access to justice, ease the workload on the principal bench in Mumbai, and set a precedent as the Bombay High Court becomes the only High Court in India with five benches [3]. While the news is welcomed by many, there have been concerns from other regions such as Pune regarding the lack of a circuit bench due to heavy case pendency [4].
Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, has congratulated the people and legal fraternity of the region on the establishment of the new High Court bench in Kolhapur. He expressed his delight at the decision, stating that the matter had been under active consideration since the beginning of his tenure [5]. Fadnavis had been consistently pursuing the demand for a High Court bench at Kolhapur and is extremely pleased that it has now succeeded [5].
The new bench in Kolhapur is being established to alleviate the burden on litigants and lawyers who have to travel to Mumbai for hearings. It will be the fourth bench in the state of Maharashtra, joining the principal bench in Mumbai, and the benches in Nagpur and Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) [1][3]. The new bench is expected to cover half a dozen districts and is a historic step aimed at decentralizing judicial access, decreasing travel hardship for litigants, and catering to a long-standing regional demand for the reorganization of Bombay High Court’s functioning areas [1][2][3].
References:
- The Times of India
- The Indian Express
- The Hindu
- The Hindu
- The Indian Express
- The establishment of the new High Court bench in Kolhapur will undeniably impact the business and finance sectors in the region, as local litigants and lawyers will no longer need to travel hours for hearings.
- Political discussions are expected to surface in the coming months, as the move to decentralize judicial access in Maharashtra could serve as a model for other states, influencing the overall general-news landscape.
