Mumbai: When Leonard Stone, the last chief justice of the Bombay high court of the British monarchy unfurled the Indian tricolour at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, it ended the judicial system dominated by the British judges.
It was also the beginning of the Indianised version of the system which began with the dispensation of the archaic English language which was replaced by modern English, most commonly used in the high court today. For example, ‘tryal’ was used as a spelling in old English, which the HC has replaced with the trial.
Hindustan Times takes a look at the changes in the judicial system in the Bombay high court on the 75th Independence Day of the nation, as well as the 160th year of the existence of the Bombay high court, which incidentally was on August 14.
According to the author and former judge B N Gokhale, who penned the book ‘The Story of High Court of Judicature at Bombay After Independence’, some major changes were brought about in the functioning of the high court, as well as the way business was conducted by its staff, officers and the lawyers practising on both the original and appellate side.
Among the first changes that took place was making Hindi in Devanagari script an official language of the court. However, due to the insistence of stakeholders, it was decided to continue with the Indianised version of English. At the same time, usage of regional languages was also made permissible for arguments.
An incident cited in the book is quoted here to elucidate the same. In 1956, during the hearing of an appeal in a civil matter, while the appellants counsel argued in chaste English, the defendant’s lawyer who was known for his affable nature realised that he would not be able to match the language skills of his opponent and hence requested the bench to allow him to argue in Marathi, which was permitted by the bench. The author writes that the arguments went off well and the defendant’s lawyer convinced the court. However, the more interesting aspect of the case was that the judgement was delivered in Marathi.
Another change that the Bombay high court witnessed after Independence was the introduction of court fee which according to the author was started to ensure that the litigants could value the justice served to them.
The merger of various small states into the Bombay state also defined the boundaries of the Bombay high court after the independence, which earlier included the entire Gujarat and parts of Sindh, which is now in Pakistan. It also included parts of today’s Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh, then known as Deccan and the western and southern parts of Maharashtra, which included Kolhapur and Solapur.
The Bombay high court’s jurisdiction was restricted to Maharashtra and Gujarat (till the setting up of Gujarat high court) and all other areas which were covered within the borders of Maharashtra. The Nagpur high court, which was earlier catering to cases from Madhya Pradesh, was included as a bench of the Bombay high court after independence.
The departure of chief justice Leonard Stone saw MC Chagla being appointed as the first Indian chief justice of the Bombay high court. Though it was a few months after the departure of chief justice Stone that justice Chagla was officially named as the chief justice in January 1948, according to the author, chief justice Chagla took charge of duties from the next day of chief justice Stone stepping down.
Chagla continued on the post of chief justice of Bombay high court for a decade before he resigned to take up the post of Indian ambassador to the United States of America in 1958.
The night (August 15, 1947) on which chief justice Leonard Stone heralded the independence of India and handed over the charge to chief justice MC Chagla with the shake of the hand is preserved in the Bombay high court Museum titled ‘The Last Scene’.
According to an officer from the high court, though the Bombay high court was established and started functioning on August 14, 1862, from Admiralty House in Bombay, following a charter in 1861, the same was done without much ado as there were no celebrations to mark or announce the occasion.
To make the people aware of the rich history of the Bombay high court, and make it more accessible to the general public, the high court authorities have tied up with the Directorate of Tourism and conducted Heritage Walks on weekends.
The explanation is in three languages English, Hindi and Marathi and batches are restricted to 15 persons in each batch. The HC is also in the process of translating English plaques in the museum into Hindi and Marathi and introducing audio video media for the visitors to be able to understand and learn about the history of the court which is displayed in the museum.
The current building which houses the Bombay high court was completed in 1878 at a cost of ₹16.5 lakh and started functioning in 1879.
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The Last Scene
On August 14, the members of the original and the Appellate Side Bar, solicitors, officers and the entire staff of the high court, as well as a large number of men and women gathered in the Central Court at about 11.35pm. The last British Chief Justice, Sir Leonard Stone, and the other judges took their seats at 11.45 pm.
A temporary flag post was put up near the seat occupied by the chief justice.
The chief justice Sir Leonard Stone addressed the gathering: At about 11.59 pm, he requested the gathering to stand in silent prayer for a minute. At the stroke of 12, he unfurled the new Indian national flag on the flag post; and simultaneously, a larger flag was hoisted on the flag staff of the high court building outside.
The chief justice, who was in full ceremonial court dress, then saluted the flag, and the other judges who were in bands and gowns bowed before it. The members of the two Bars, officers and staff sang Vande Mataram and also raised slogans Jai Hind to commemorate the occasion. Stone then shook hands with MC Chagla, an indication that he would be taking charge as the chief justice.