File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS
A new building for the Mazgaon Metropolitan Magistrate court was inaugurated on Saturday, after several orders were passed by the Bombay High Court giving directions to repair the previous, dilapidated building.
Acting Chief Justice S. V. Gangapurwala of the High Court was present at the inauguration, along with Justices K.R. Shriram, M.S. Karnik, Kamal Khata, Sharmila Deshmukh, and Neela Gokhale.
The Mazgaon court complex was vacated in 2013 after an urgent evacuation of the dilapidated structure was ordered, and the Mazgaon Court Bar Association filed a petition before the Bombay High Court seeking its demolition. However, despite several orders, the demolition only took place in 2016.
In one of the orders, the HC had said, “Cracks and other defects noticed required immediate vacation of the building and emergency measures to ensure that it was vacated and handed over in a vacant state for demolition. After such a history and a dismal track record of the Public Works Department and the State officials, it is now the anxiety of the Court that quality construction and fit enough to house a Court building comes up at the very site. It has been assured to the Registrar of this Court in administrative meetings and otherwise that the construction is going to be made at the very site. That site and land are earmarked for construction of Mazgaon Court Building..”
