CJI Gavai (File photo)
MUMBAI: CJI BR Gavai laid the foundation stone for the new high court complex in Bandra (East) on Wednesday and asked authorities to ensure there is no extravagance in its construction. “A court building is a temple of justice and not a seven star-hotel,” CJI Gavai said.Addressing a gathering, he emphasised the new building would house a constitutional court. He said its architect, Hafeez Contractor, should ensure it depicts democratic values and not imperialist ones.”Judges are no longer feudal lords,” the CJI said. “While planning court buildings, we concentrate on the needs of judges, but we should not forget all of us exist for the needs of litigants, the citizens of the country who come to court to seek justice. Bar and bench are wheels of the golden chariot for the administration of justice.”Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said he would request the contractor to ensure the complex encompasses “democratic grandeur” so that all functional areas convey to citizens that they will get justice here.Earlier in the day, the CJI inaugurated the project initiation ceremony for the city campus of the Maharashtra National Law University (MNLU) in Goregaon. Dilip Ukey, MNLU vice-chancellor, said the vision was to make it a hub of world-class legal education. The CJI invoked the contributions of Babasaheb Ambedkar to encourage students to be socially engaged.At the HC complex ceremony, the CJI said it was his last visit to the state before demitting the top judicial post on Nov 24, and noted he was satisfied with the judicial infrastructure in his home state. “I was reluctant to be part of this event. But now I am experiencing gratitude that, as a judge who once discharged his duties in Bombay HC, I am ending my tenure with laying the foundation stone of the best court building in the entire country. The judiciary, legislature and executive must work under the Constitution to provide justice to society,” he said.
