A large portion of the museum has been dedicated to documents, such as handwritten applications bearing Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s signature or charters from the British Crown.
HOUSED INSIDE room number 17 in the Grade I heritage building of the Bombay High Court is a treasure trove of legal history, which has been drawing visitors of all ages since February 2015. A large portion of the Bombay High Court Museum is dedicated to documents that sketch the history of the 155-year-old court. The documents include handwritten applications bearing the signature of Bal Gangadhar Tilak when he was tried in courtroom 46 for sedition in 1908, and various charters from the British Crown.
The museum also has a special section, showcasing barrister certificates issued to luminaries, such as Mahatma Gandhi in 1891, Mohammed Ali Jinnah in 1896, Dr B R Ambedkar, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, K M Munshi and the first permanent Indian Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court M C Chagla. Other exhibits include a high-back ornate chair used by the judges during the Colonial era, along with candlestands with engraved glass casing, glass ‘hundis’ and a large manual cloth ceiling fan — all part of the pre-electricity era — and a courtroom of the 1900s when electricity and manual typewriters were introduced.
The erstwhile red gowns and wigs donned by the judges, along with Justice Dinshaw Davar’s wig box are also on display. Museum walls don portraits, charts and placards, recollecting the rich and intertwined Indo-British legal history. The Judicial Museum also displays a rare Fort Canon from 1864, one of the four canons used by the British Army. Uma Narayan, deputy registrar of HC Library and Museum, said, “The idea of launching a museum came in 2012, on the court’s 150th anniversary. The implementation was made possible due to the efforts of the then Chief Justice Mohit Shah, who was keen on building a museum that showcases the legal history of the Bombay High Court.”
She added, “Since the response is good and many visitors have requested more displays, the present chief justice and the judges of museum committee are keen expanding the museum.” The museum was curated by Lawyer and Historian Rajan Jayakar, with the help of Dr Sabhyasachi Mukherji. Krupa Thakkar, a student from the Government Law College, said, “The museum is a refreshing, peaceful escape from the outside hustle.”
Another visitor, Jayansh Soni, an 18-year-old Jodhpur resident who visited the museum earlier this week, said, “The visit was educational, as the museum provides original material pertaining to the history about the Bombay High Court and the seven is
lands.”
