Kolhapur High Court bench gets 75 acres, 495 staff

The Maharashtra Government has sanctioned 75 acres of land at Shenda Park in Kolhapur and created 495 permanent staff positions for the circuit bench of the Bombay High Court at Kolhapur, barandbench.com reports. The announcement was made during the foundation day celebration of the bench, established a year ago.

Acting Chief Justice Ravindra V Ghuge said he requested Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for additional land to settle the issue permanently. Former Chief Justice of India BR Gavai assured that the circuit bench's transition into a permanent bench is a certainty. Justice Sharmila Deshmukh noted that nearly 15,000 cases were filed in the last year, of which about 13,000 have been disposed of.

The bench serves six western Maharashtra districts: Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Solapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. Justice Gavai also said a proposal to increase the Bombay High Court's judge strength from 94 to 114 is under consideration, which would ensure more judges at the Kolhapur bench.