Bombay High Court at 150 – A Photo Essay

As the Sesquicentennial Celebrations of the Bombay High Court draw to close, marking 150

years of glorious legal heritage, an ongoing exhibition traces the history of this monument of

justice, including its historic building.

It was on August 14, 1862, the Bombay High Court was established under the Indian High

Courts Act, 1861, enacted by the British Parliament. The functioning of the High Court

commenced with 7 Judges, with Sir Mathew Richard Sausse as the first Chief Justice of the

Bombay High Court from 1862 to 1866. Justice M C Chagla was the first Indian Chief Justice

following independence in 1947.

Queen Victoria’s 1862 charter by which three High Courts were established in India- Bombay,

Madras and Calcutta. Though names of these three cities have changed over the years, their

High Courts have still retained their original names.

The legal history of Bombay (now Mumbai) precedes the establishment of the High Court at

least by two centuries. In the early years, the administration of Justice was in the hands of

Judges who held their sittings in the Custom Houses of Bombay and Mahim

The setting up of an Admiralty Court in 1684 under the Charter of 1683 opened the second

phase in development of the Bombay Judiciary. The Charter of 1726 introduced a uniformity of

approach and established similar judicial institutions. Thus in 1726."The Mayor's Court" was

established under direct authority of the King.

The work on the present building of the High Court commenced in April 1871 and completed in

November 1878. The building which is early English-Gothic in style, was designed by Colonel

J.A.Fuller, and was completed at a cost of Rs. 16,44,528 The photo exhibition at the Central Court

traces the history of the magnificent building.

The exhibition also features several legal documents belonging to the early days of the court,

including court fee stamps and lease deeds drafted in that era.

One of the most significant documents on display is a letter from 1923, by which M K Gandhi

was deleted from the advocates’ roll. His licence to practice in the court had been cancelled after

he was convicted of sedition for his articles written in “Young India.”

The pieces on display include a court a jury box and an ornately carved round cupboard usually

placed in the judge’s chambers. The Judge’s Mace is another major attraction.

On display at the central Hall is one of the first typewriters in the Bombay High Court’s history

dating back to 1905.

The three sedition trials of Bal Gangadhar Tilak between 1897 and 1916, one of the most

significant cases in the High Court’s history, are given a prominent mention at the exhibition

The letter that Bal Gangadhar Tilak wrote way back in 1916 regarding the evidence in the

Nashik Conspiracy Case hangs in a beautiful frame near one that Mohammed Ali Jinnah wrote

when he applied for the post of a barrister.

“There is a plaque with the last words Bal Gangadhar Tilak spoke at his trial. Tilak was accused

of sedition. When the jury found him guilty, he said, “In spite of the verdict of the Jury, I maintain

that I am innocent. There are higher powers that rule the destinies of men and nations; and I

think, it may be the will of Providence that the cause I represent may be benefited more by my

suffering than by my pen and tongue”.

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PIB Mumbai/Bhavana Gokhale/S L Patil

August 18, 2012