Name change? BJP MP demands Bombay High Court be called Maha High Court now

Mumbai: A demand for rechristening of Bombay High Court to Maharashtra High Court has been put forth by a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA from North Mumbai on Wednesday. Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, MP Gopal Shetty asked that the name change be effective from the beginning of the Parliament’s winter session. In a letter, Shetty referred to a name change order passed by Maharashtra government in 1960. “In the year 1960, the Maharashtra government had passed an order to change the name of Bombay HC to Maharashtra HC. However, this order was never implemented. In 1995, Bombay was renamed Mumbai but the high court’s name was never changed.” He further added, “The citizens of Maharashtra feel a special significance in the use of the word Maharashtra. According to the language, tradition and culture of the state of Maharashtra, the name Maharashtra High Court expresses the word’s meaning at the local level.” A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Bombay HC in this regard (the name change). However, the high court said on November 03, 2022 that as the process for name change is a parliamentary one, any amendment should come from the Parliament, said the MP. In his letter, Shetty also invoked the Constitution of India (Part-VI States) Chapter V Article 214. “In the phrase ‘a high court in every state’ should be amended to ‘a high court in the name of the state for every state’. It should be directed that every high court be named after the state it is located in,” mentioned the letter.