IP Connect

India: High Courts of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta to undergo change in names

On July 5, 2016, The Union Cabinet approved a change in the names of the Madras, Bombay and Calcutta High Courts to reflect the alterations in the official nomenclature of these cities to Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata, respectively.

“The names of these cities have been changed for a few years now. So, it is appropriate to change the names of their High Courts as well and the Cabinet has approved the introduction of the ‘The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016’ in Parliament,” Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.[1]

The Bill will facilitate the changing of the names of the Bombay High Court as the Mumbai High Court; the Madras High Court as the Chennai High Court, said an official statement from the government, which is silent on changing the name of the Calcutta High Court.

The proposal of the Department of Justice in the Law Ministry is to bring a Bill — The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016 — to rename the two high courts established in 1860s under Indian High Court Act, 1861. But at present, there is no central law under which the proposal for change of names of these high courts can be addressed.

[1] http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/bombay-madras-calcutta-high-courts-to-be-renamed/article8811881.ece