The Bombay High Court is about to get a new address. From its Gothic Revival building in the early English style in South Mumbai to a classical and neoclassical structure in Bandra East, it will not be quite the journey from colonial to post-colonial, from the historical to the modern, as it should have been. The new one, spanning across 30 acres, is expected to cost around Rs 3,750 crore, and the design has already generated controversy or, at least, a debate.

Why should a public building, designed in 2025 and constructed in the New India, carry the imprint of the colonial era? On what basis was this design chosen over the others that were invited? What were the parameters in the judging process? And why were all designs not opened up for public discussions before the decision was made, considering that this will be a significant public building designed and constructed in Mumbai in the post-independence decades?

These, and similar questions, do not have easy answers, perhaps none at all, given how transparent and accessible the work of the honourable judiciary is. But this does not mean that there cannot be public viewing of the designs and discussions. This is, after all, the home of the Bombay HC that we are talking about. In a laudable move, the Mumbai Architects Collective did just that earlier in the week. The public exhibition of the chosen design by Hafeez Contractor, along with the designs submitted by four other architects and planners, was on display across nearly two dozen panels, each design exhibited in great depth and detail and made available in ways that they could be compared and........

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