BOMBAY HIGH COURT

CASE STUDY

1903 PIYUSH BAGDIYA

1906 NILANG BORE
● Located in close proximity to the landmark Flora Fountain in the heart of the city Fort
area, the massive Bombay High Court building is part of the crucial ensemble of
Gothic buildings along the Oval maidan that form the very face of Bombay’s historic
core.

● Similar in appearance to a vast castle, the High Court building is a four-storied stone
structure 562 feet long and, at its highest point, 178 feet high. The built up area of the
ground and three floors of the original building is a grand total of over 80,000 square
feet, topped by a handsome gabled roof.

● The building, completed in 1878 at a cost less than its original estimate, was
designed by Lieutenant-Colonel John Augustus Fuller of the Royal Engineers. Today
the Bombay High court is protected as an integral part of the city’s heritage and is
listed as a Grade II-A heritage building under the Heritage Regulations enacted by the
Government of Maharashtra in 1995.
● The Bombay High Court is rightly acknowledged as a symbol of the peoples
democratic rights to equality, freedom and impartial justice, guaranteed to them under
the Constitution of India. Through trying times, and when these freedoms have been
attacked and undermined, the Bombay High Court has stood firmly by its citizens. It
has a long-standing legacy of erudition, a heritage of indomitability and fearlessness,
a history of zealous safeguarding of the rights of citizens, who thus take great pride in
this splendid building that so effectively embellishes their city.
LOCATION
The Registrar General, Bombay High Court,
Fort, Mumbai, Maharashtra 40003
Design
Characteristics
Floor Height of around 6m gives the
space an appalling experience

As the space is always occupied by a

number of people having a higher
ceiling height is beneficial wrt to
ventilation as well
PASSAGES
Passages are 3m wide

Tv for showing cases and courtroom numbers

Pathways are well segregated according to

the types of users
Staircases
Staircase Blocks are Naturally Well Lit and Well ventilated

3-3.5 m Wide Staircases

Staircases glorify the experience of entering such Enormous

Spaces
INTERIORS
Incorporating facade design into interiors as well

Use of Glass in the partitions brings in a lot of

natural light into the courtrooms
● COURTYARDS HAVE PROVISION OF SITTING
INCORPORATED WITH LANDSCAPE FEATURE WITHIN SMALL
POCKETS OF THE STRUCTURE TEND TO BE UNOCCUPIED!
● TOILET REQUIREMENT ACCORDING TO THE NUMBER OF
USERS WITH THE BUILDING ARE NOT SUFFICIENT ENOUGH!