Mumbai: After decades of delay, Mulund is set to get a new state-of-the-art court complex. The Maharashtra government has sanctioned ₹86.97 crore for the project. The new 10-storey structure will replace the crumbling 80-year-old British-era court building, which lawyers and staff describe as unsafe and severely overcrowded.
FPJ Visits The Old Court Complex
“This building has served its time. It’s dangerous — ceilings have collapsed multiple times. Even IIT Mumbai’s 2017 structural audit declared it unsafe,” said Santosh Dubey, Secretary of the Mulund Court Bar Association, speaking to FPJ.
“Built in 1945, the current structure still houses two JMFC courts but now handles over 24,000 pending cases. As per standard norms, one court should handle around 500 to 600 cases. Here, each court is burdened with thousands,” he added.
'A Relief For Citizens & The Legal Fraternity'
MLA Mihir Kotecha, who had been pushing the proposal since 2022, expressed satisfaction over the sanction.
“We had only two courtrooms till now. Women lawyers didn’t even have a bar room. The condition was pathetic,” Kotecha told FPJ.
“Mulund has a large business community; cheque-bounce and commercial cases are common. People had to travel to Mazgaon due to the lack of courtroom space. Once CM Devendra Fadnavis learnt about this, he immediately cleared the proposal,” he said.
The new complex, to be built on government plots 676 and 676A, will include 11 court halls, a Lok Adalat Court Hall, and a Vulnerable Witness Deposition Centre.
'Justice Delayed Due To Lack Of Space'
According to Jaysingh Bankar, Committee Member of the Bar Association, “It’s difficult for litigants, advocates and staff to work here. The population has increased, many new lawyers are joining, but the infrastructure hasn’t grown. Because of space shortage, justice itself is delayed.”
Former Bar Association president Adv. Bhupesh Rane added that the new project was “not just welcome but essential.”
“Mulund court’s jurisdiction covers four police stations — Mulund, Navghar, Kanjur, and another nearby division — yet the facilities are sub-standard. Washrooms are shabby, and there’s no proper space for citizens. We hope more courts will also be sanctioned in the future,” he said.
A Long-Awaited Upgrade For Mumbai's Eastern Suburbs
For decades, lawyers and citizens have demanded better facilities at the Mulund court. The upcoming project promises to modernise judicial infrastructure in Mumbai’s eastern suburbs, bringing relief to more than 500 employees and 1,000 daily visitors.
“This will not just improve comfort but restore faith in the system,” said Dubey. “It’s a move towards timely justice.”
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