Maharashtra government rapped over Mazgaon court

After warning of staying construction of the offshore Shivaji Maharaj statue on last date of hearing, the Bombay high court on Monday reprimanded the government of Maharashtra for its apathy in expediting construction of the Mazgaon court building, which was evacuated overnight in 2013.

The division bench of Justice S.C. Dharmadhikari and Justice G.S. Kulkarni came down heavily on the state while hearing a petition filed by the Mazgaon Court Bar Association seeking directions for the expeditious construction of Mazgaon court building. According to the petition, “The government should treat courts on a par with defence establishments, police stations and housing quarters of collectors and other senior government officers. The government makes tall claims about providing infrastructure to courts but when it comes to releasing money, it is not done.”

On Monday the court was informed that the government has allocated budget of Rs 29 crore for this year to construct Mazgaon court building though the estimated requirement of money is Rs 387 crore for the same.

Following this the bench said that nothing much is going to be done this year. This way the construction would be completed by 2025 observed the court. The judges said that phase wise construction is not supposed to be done.

The judges said that fund is passed immediately if the government wants to do some work in Mantralaya and bungalows near Mantralaya is also getting renovated in short time but when it comes to providing funds for construction of court the government does not have money.

“If no court building is required than tell it in bold,” said the bench adding that the government should take into consideration that lady judges, lawyers and litigants also comes to court and it is government’s duty to provide adequate court infrastructure to them. The bench has asked the government to file reply within two weeks.