In order to reduce the burden of cases on the Bombay High Court, all suits valued up to Rs10 crore will now be heard by the Bombay City Civil Court. This means that the Bombay City Civil Court can now adjudicate on civil disputes pertaining to properties valued up to Rs10 crore, as opposed to its earlier jurisdiction of one crore.
Bill to amend the Bombay City Civil Court Act
On July 27, the state government introduced a bill to amend the Bombay City Civil Court Act, 1948, to enhance the court’s pecuniary jurisdiction. This was done to alleviate the burden on the high court.
The reasoning behind this move was that the value of properties, as well as the valuation of civil suits in the city, had escalated sharply, leading to more civil suits being filed in the Bombay High Court than in the City Civil Court.
The Bombay City Civil Court is the only district court in the state of Maharashtra set up under a special enactment and has limited pecuniary jurisdiction, whereas all other district courts have unlimited pecuniary jurisdiction.
8,762 civil suits to be transferred to the City Civil Court
The Law and Judiciary Department notified the amendment on November 20 following Presidential assent. As a result, 8,762 civil suits will be transferred from the Bombay High Court to the City Civil Court.
Earlier, in 2012, the pecuniary jurisdiction of the City Civil Court was enhanced from Rs10 lakh to Rs1 crore.
