In short. A Bombay High Court lawyer handles cases from Maharashtra, Goa, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The court sits in Mumbai and at Benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad, Goa and, since August 2025, Kolhapur, and your district decides which. It hears bail, anticipatory bail, FIR quashing, writs and appeals, and in Mumbai it also tries high-value suits on its original side. Urgent criminal matters are often listed within days or weeks; final hearings take months or years. Start by collecting the FIR, order or judgment and getting the forum checked.
Is this your situation?
- Your wife or a relative has filed an FIR in Mumbai, Pune, Thane or Nagpur, and you live in Delhi NCR.
- A Sessions Court in Maharashtra or Goa has refused bail to a family member.
- Your company has a contract with Mumbai as the seat of arbitration, or a supplier has sued you there.
- You bought a flat in Pune, Thane or Navi Mumbai and the builder dispute has reached the appellate stage.
- A Maharashtra government department, a municipal corporation or a state authority has passed an order against you.
- A Look Out Circular or a bank freeze traces back to an agency or a police station in Maharashtra.
- A family court in Maharashtra has decided custody, maintenance or divorce and you want to appeal.
Five places, one court: which bench hears your case
The Bombay High Court covers the State of Maharashtra, the State of Goa and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It sits at its principal seat in Mumbai and at Benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad (the city is now officially called Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) and Goa. A circuit bench at Kolhapur began sitting on 18 August 2025. All five are the same High Court; the bench is decided by the district where the case arose.
The broad division is as follows. The Nagpur Bench takes the Vidarbha districts, including Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Amravati, Akola, Washim, Buldhana and Yavatmal. The Aurangabad Bench takes the Marathwada districts (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Jalna, Beed, Parbhani, Hingoli, Nanded, Latur and Dharashiv) and some districts of north Maharashtra such as Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar), Jalgaon, Dhule and Nandurbar. The Kolhapur circuit bench covers Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Solapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. The Goa Bench takes Goa.
Everything else comes to Mumbai: Mumbai city and suburbs, Thane, Palghar, Raigad, Pune and Nashik among others, along with Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Pune deserves a mention because many Delhi families have children working there, and Pune matters go to Mumbai, not to any of the regional benches. District names in Maharashtra have changed recently and bench assignments can be adjusted by notification, so check the court's notification or the cause list for your taluka before filing.
We are a Delhi law firm, not the Bombay High Court
This website belongs to B.K. Singh & Associates, a private law firm. It is not the Bombay High Court's website. Official case status, cause lists, orders and e-filing are on the court's own website, bombayhighcourt.nic.in, and the Goa Bench also has its own site.
The firm's offices are in Dwarka, New Delhi and Vaishali, Ghaziabad; we have no office in Mumbai, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Goa or Kolhapur. Advocate B.K. Singh and the team read the papers and plan the case from Delhi, draft the petition, and appear in person or by video hearing where the bench allows it, working with associate counsel at that seat for filing, mentioning and local practice. Mumbai in particular has its own customs on the original side, and local counsel matters there.
Most of the people who reach us about the Bombay High Court are in one of three positions. A family in Delhi or Noida is dealing with an FIR filed in Maharashtra. A business in Gurugram or Okhla has a commercial dispute with a Mumbai or Pune party. Or a Delhi resident has property, a job or a pension file in Maharashtra and a state order has gone wrong.
Original side and appellate side: what the terms mean for you
The Bombay High Court is one of the few High Courts that still has an ordinary original civil jurisdiction. For Greater Mumbai, high-value civil suits are filed directly in the High Court and tried there like a trial court, with pleadings, evidence and cross-examination. This is the original side. Cases from the rest of Maharashtra and Goa, and all appeals, revisions and writs, are on the appellate side.
Where the line falls depends on value. After the Bombay City Civil Court (Amendment) Act 2023, the City Civil Court in Mumbai hears suits up to Rs 10 crore, and suits above that go to the High Court's original side. Pending suits were transferred accordingly. Check the current limit before valuing a suit, because the plaint value fixes the court.
The original side also handles testamentary matters (probate and letters of administration) for Mumbai estates of higher value, company and admiralty matters, and the Parsi Chief Matrimonial Court sits at the High Court in Mumbai. Delhi's High Court has an original side too, but with a lower value threshold and its own rules; a Delhi company used to that system will find Mumbai's procedure and terminology different, from the way matters are listed to the role of the Prothonotary and Senior Master.
Matters people bring to the Bombay High Court
- Bail and anticipatory bail. Regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS) (old Section 439 CrPC) and anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS (old Section 438 CrPC), usually after the Sessions Court has said no.
- Quashing. Petitions under Section 528 BNSS (old Section 482 CrPC), and in some cases a criminal writ petition under Article 226, to quash an FIR, chargesheet or summoning order.
- Writs against the State. Orders of Maharashtra and Goa government departments, municipal corporations such as the BMC and Pune Municipal Corporation, MHADA, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority and other state bodies.
- Service matters. State employees usually go first to the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, which has benches in Mumbai, Nagpur and Aurangabad; the High Court hears writs against its orders.
- Commercial suits and arbitration. High-value Mumbai commercial suits in the Commercial Division, arbitration petitions where Mumbai is the seat, and commercial appeals from district commercial courts.
- Family appeals. Appeals from family courts at Bandra, Pune, Nagpur and elsewhere under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act 1984.
- Real estate. Second appeals under Section 58 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016 against orders of the Maharashtra Real Estate Appellate Tribunal, on the grounds that Act allows.
- Criminal and civil appeals. Appeals against conviction and acquittal, MCOCA and NDPS matters, and first and second civil appeals from across the state.
Bail in Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra
The usual route is the magistrate first (in Mumbai, often the Esplanade court for south Mumbai police stations), then the Sessions Court, then the High Court. The High Court has concurrent power, but it ordinarily expects the Sessions Court to have been approached. Where the High Court is asked directly for anticipatory bail, be ready to explain why; the question whether this is permissible as a matter of course was referred to a larger bench of the Supreme Court in Mohammed Rasal C. v. State of Kerala, so check whether it has been decided.
Bail applications in the Bombay High Court are heard by single judges assigned by roster. The State is represented by the Public Prosecutor's office, which takes instructions from the investigating officer, and the first date often ends with the State seeking time. Where the accused is in custody, ask for a short date, and have the custody details and the stage of investigation ready.
Maharashtra has its own special laws that change the bail test. The Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act 1999 (MCOCA), which began in Maharashtra and was later extended to Delhi, restricts bail under Section 21(4). The Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act 1999 is often added in investment fraud cases. If either appears in the FIR, the ordinary bail arguments are not enough, and the petition has to deal with the special conditions first.
When Advocate B.K. Singh reads a Maharashtra bail file, he checks whether the case was registered before or after 1 July 2024. Many Mumbai economic offences are old cases under the IPC and CrPC, and they continue under the old law because of Section 531 BNSS, while a new FIR will be under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (BNS). Getting the provisions wrong does not lose a case, but it tells the judge the file has not been read carefully.
Quashing FIRs from Maharashtra and Goa
The Bombay High Court applies the same tests for quashing as every High Court: the categories in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal (1992), and for settlements, Gian Singh v. State of Punjab (2012) and Narinder Singh v. State of Punjab (2014). Serious offences against society are generally not quashed on settlement, as the Supreme Court held in Parbatbhai Aahir v. State of Gujarat (2017). Petitions are commonly filed as criminal applications, and where Article 226 is also invoked, as criminal writ petitions, which may be heard by a Division Bench; the form affects which bench hears you, so it is chosen with that in mind.
Matrimonial FIRs are a large part of what Delhi families bring. A wife living with her parents in Pune or Thane files an FIR under Sections 85 and 86 BNS (old Section 498A IPC) naming the husband in Gurugram and his parents and sister in Delhi. The relatives who never lived with the couple often have a strong case for quashing on the ground that the allegations against them are general. The Supreme Court in Shivangi Bansal v. Sahib Bansal (2025) also endorsed safeguards against hasty coercive action in such cases, though how they are applied may vary from state to state.
Cheating and breach of trust FIRs under Sections 318 and 316 BNS (old Sections 420 and 406 IPC) arising out of business deals are the other big category. Mumbai's Economic Offences Wing handles many of them. Where the dispute is really about unpaid money under a contract, the petition should show the contract, the payments and the correspondence, so the court can see a civil dispute rather than a crime. Our page on FIR quashing in the Delhi High Court explains the general tests in more depth.
Commercial disputes and arbitration with a Mumbai seat
Mumbai is where a large share of India's commercial contracts choose to be decided. If your agreement names Mumbai as the seat of arbitration, courts at Mumbai have exclusive supervisory jurisdiction over that arbitration. Applications for interim measures under Section 9, appointment of an arbitrator under Section 11 and challenges to the award under Section 34 (within three months, plus up to 30 days for sufficient cause) then belong in Mumbai, not Delhi, even if both parties are based in Delhi. A Section 11 application goes to the High Court; Section 9 and Section 34 go to the court with original jurisdiction over the subject matter, which in Mumbai means the High Court for higher-value matters.
High-value commercial suits from Mumbai go to the Commercial Division of the High Court, and smaller ones to the commercial courts in the City Civil Court; check the current value limit. Pre-institution mediation under Section 12A of the Commercial Courts Act 2015 is mandatory unless urgent interim relief is sought, as the Supreme Court held in Patil Automation (2022). Commercial appeals under Section 13 must be filed within 60 days.
If you are a Delhi company and the other side is in Mumbai, read the dispute resolution clause before anything else. The sister site arbitrationlawyer.in explains arbitration procedure in more detail. Very often the question of which court has jurisdiction decides more than the merits do, at least in the first year.
Family cases, NRIs and the Family Court at Bandra
Family courts in Maharashtra sit in Mumbai (at Bandra), Pune, Nagpur, Thane and other cities. An appeal against a family court judgment or order, other than an interlocutory order, goes to a Division Bench of the High Court under Section 19 of the Family Courts Act 1984. The safe course is to treat the limitation as 30 days from the judgment, and to apply for condonation with honest reasons if you are late.
Custody disputes often involve a parent in Delhi and a parent in Pune or Mumbai, and sometimes a child taken abroad. The High Court decides on the welfare of the child, and a habeas corpus petition is possible where a child is being held unlawfully. NRIs can take part in family proceedings through video hearings in many cases and through a power of attorney for some steps, but the court can insist on personal presence for mediation or for the child's interview.
A divorce granted in Mumbai is valid across India. What does not travel automatically is the forum: a husband in Delhi cannot ask the Delhi Family Court to decide a case already pending in Pune. If the case should be moved, the remedy is a transfer petition in the Supreme Court. Our page on family court appeals in the Delhi High Court covers the appeal process on the Delhi side for comparison.
Delhi High Court or Bombay High Court?
The test is Article 226(2): a High Court can hear a writ where the cause of action arose, wholly or in part, within its territory. An FIR registered at a police station in Maharashtra or Goa is challenged in the Bombay High Court, at the bench covering that district. An order of the Maharashtra or Goa government, or of a municipal body there, also belongs in Bombay. The fact that you live in Delhi does not change this.
Central bodies complicate the picture. The Reserve Bank of India and SEBI are headquartered in Mumbai, and many central agencies have Mumbai offices. A Delhi resident affected by an order passed by a central ministry in New Delhi may be able to go to the Delhi High Court, while an order passed by a Mumbai office of a central body may point to Bombay. Even where both courts have some jurisdiction, under Kusum Ingots v. Union of India (2004) a court may refuse to hear a case whose real connection is with another state. SEBI orders, for their part, go to the Securities Appellate Tribunal in Mumbai and then to the Supreme Court, not to either High Court in the ordinary course.
Look Out Circulars show how this works. An LOC opened at the request of a Delhi-based agency can be challenged in Delhi; one opened at the request of a Mumbai police station or bank branch may be better challenged in Bombay. The Bombay High Court in Viraj Chetan Shah (2024) struck down the clause allowing banks to request LOCs, and the Delhi High Court has also quashed LOCs used merely to recover bank dues; the law is still moving, so check the current position. Our page on quashing a Look Out Circular sets out the steps, and the general rule on writs is on our writ petition page.
A made-up example: the Pune FIR and the family in Delhi
Here's a made-up example. Ankit works in Gurugram; his parents and married sister live in Janakpuri, Delhi. His wife moves back to her parents' home in Pune after a year of marriage, and six months later files an FIR at a Pune police station alleging cruelty and dowry demands against all four of them. The parents are in their seventies.
The family's first question is whether they can go to the Delhi High Court. They cannot: the FIR is registered in Pune, so the quashing petition and any High Court bail matter go to the Bombay High Court at Mumbai. For immediate protection, the parents and sister ask the Pune Sessions Court for anticipatory bail, and Ankit, who has received a notice to appear under Section 35 BNSS (old Section 41A CrPC), joins investigation on the date given.
The sister, who lives separately with her husband and is named in one line of the FIR, then files a quashing petition in Mumbai on the ground that the allegations against her are general and vague. Meanwhile the couple try mediation. If they settle, the petition can be amended to seek quashing of the whole FIR on settlement, with the wife's affidavit. None of this is guaranteed to end the case, but the family has avoided filing in the wrong court and wasting the first month.
How a Bombay High Court matter is handled from Delhi
Send the papers and get the bench confirmed
Share the FIR, order, judgment or contract by WhatsApp or email, or bring them to the Dwarka or Vaishali office. We confirm the bench (Mumbai, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Goa or Kolhapur), the remedy and any limitation already running.
Arrange translations and certified copies
Documents in Marathi generally need an English translation for the High Court. Apply for certified copies of the lower court order early; in bail matters a copy downloaded from eCourts may do for the first filing, but check.
Draft and sign
The petition, affidavit and vakalatnama are drafted in Delhi and shared with you to check the facts before signing. NRIs can have the affidavit attested at an Indian mission or before a notary with the required formalities.
File through local counsel
The petition is e-filed or filed physically at the seat through associate counsel, who also handles the registry's objections and listing. On the original side, procedural steps before the Prothonotary and Senior Master are attended locally.
First hearing
The court may issue notice, call for papers from the police or department and decide any urgent interim prayer. Video hearing is available in many courts; ask in advance whether this bench is taking it for your type of matter.
Reply, hearing and order
After the State or the other side replies, the case is heard and decided. You receive each order with a short explanation of what it means and what you need to do next, whether that is furnishing bail bonds in Pune or complying with a direction.
If the order goes against you, the next step may be an appeal to a Division Bench (for many original side judgments and some writ orders) or a Special Leave Petition to the Supreme Court.
Typical time and cost at the Bombay High Court
| Stage | Typical time | Court fee and costs |
|---|---|---|
| Reading the papers, forum advice | A day or two after full papers; same day where someone is in custody | No court fee |
| Translations and certified copies | A few days to two weeks | Translation and copying charges |
| Drafting and filing bail or quashing | Often within a week | Small court fee on criminal applications; check the current court fee |
| First listing | Days to a few weeks; earlier on urgent mentioning | No further court fee |
| Bail decision | From the first hearing to a few months | No further court fee; bonds and sureties as ordered |
| Quashing or writ final hearing | Several months to a few years | Process fee for notices |
| Original side suit or commercial suit | Several years to trial and judgment; interim relief can come within weeks | Court fee on the claim value under the Maharashtra Court-fees Act; check the current schedule |
| Family court appeal | Admission within weeks; final hearing usually takes much longer | Modest court fee; check the current schedule |
Papers to collect before the first call
Criminal cases
- FIR copy with police station, district and FIR number
- Any Section 35 BNSS notice, arrest memo and remand orders
- Sessions Court order refusing bail or anticipatory bail
- Chargesheet, if filed
- Marriage certificate, chats and emails in matrimonial cases
- Settlement terms, if the case is to be quashed after a compromise
Civil, commercial and writ matters
- The contract, with the arbitration and jurisdiction clauses marked
- Invoices, ledgers, notices and replies
- The government or municipal order under challenge and your representation
- Flat purchase agreement, payment receipts and RERA orders in builder disputes
- Family court judgment, pleadings and evidence for a family appeal
From you
- Identity proof and current address
- Signed vakalatnama and affidavit
- English translations of Marathi documents
- A short list of dates in your own words
Practical points: language, e-filing, travel
Proceedings in the Bombay High Court are in English, and documents in Marathi or another language generally need a translation. Allow time for this; a long chargesheet in Marathi can take days to translate properly, and a poor translation weakens the petition.
The court's website has case status, cause lists and orders for all benches, and e-filing is available. Video hearings are permitted in many matters but practice varies from court to court and changes with administrative orders. The principal seat in Mumbai sits in the old High Court building in the Fort area, and entry for litigants is controlled, so do not plan a visit without checking with counsel first.
Delhi to Mumbai is about two hours by air, and Nagpur, Aurangabad, Goa and Kolhapur all have flights, though Kolhapur's are limited. Most hearings do not need you there. You may need to travel to furnish a bail bond before the trial court, to attend mediation, or where the court directs personal presence.
Appeals, the Supreme Court and transfers to Delhi
Against a judgment of a single judge on the original side, and in some writ matters, an intra-court appeal lies to a Division Bench of the Bombay High Court. Criminal orders of a single judge generally cannot be appealed within the High Court. From the High Court, the remedy is a Special Leave Petition to the Supreme Court under Article 136, ordinarily within 90 days. See our page on Special Leave Petitions to the Supreme Court.
Only the Supreme Court can move a case from Maharashtra or Goa to Delhi, under Section 446 BNSS (old Section 406 CrPC) for criminal cases or Section 25 CPC for civil and matrimonial cases. Wives in matrimonial disputes are often allowed transfers to where they live; husbands and businesses find it much harder. Our page on transferring a matrimonial or criminal case explains when it is worth trying.
Advocate B.K. Singh usually advises against filing for transfer as a reflex. A transfer petition takes months, the original case continues meanwhile unless stayed, and video hearings have reduced the hardship argument in many cases. It is worth it where the accused or the wife genuinely cannot attend, not as a tactic.
Common mistakes in Bombay High Court matters
Filing in Delhi because the family lives in Delhi is the most frequent one. Unless part of the cause of action arose in Delhi, the Delhi High Court will not hear a challenge to a Maharashtra FIR or a Maharashtra government order. The second is filing at the wrong bench: a Nagpur FIR does not go to Mumbai, and since August 2025 a Kolhapur or Satara matter goes to the Kolhapur circuit bench.
The third is undervaluing or overvaluing a Mumbai suit to choose a court. The plaint value decides whether the City Civil Court or the High Court hears the case, and an artificial valuation can be challenged. The fourth is ignoring the arbitration clause and filing a civil suit, which the other side will promptly ask to be referred to arbitration.
Last, people sometimes skip the statutory route: going to the High Court in a state service matter without first approaching the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal, or against a RERA order without going through the Appellate Tribunal. The petition is then dismissed with liberty to use the proper remedy, after weeks have been lost.
This week, and how to reach us
Collect the FIR, order or contract and every lower court order. Note the district or Mumbai police station, the date you received any notice and, if someone is in custody, the date of arrest and the jail. If the dispute also touches Gujarat, for example a supplier in Surat or a property in Vapi, see our page on the Gujarat High Court; if it touches Madhya Pradesh, as many Vidarbha transport and trading disputes do, see the Madhya Pradesh High Court page. If you are in Delhi NCR and expect police from Maharashtra, read our guide on transit anticipatory bail, and the Delhi High Court anticipatory bail page for how protection works on the Delhi side.
We meet clients at the Dwarka and Vaishali offices or online, including NRIs. Fees are discussed at the first meeting and agreed in writing, stage by stage, with court fees and associate counsel costs set out separately.
For advice on your papers in a Bombay High Court matter, or for updates on the law, contact Advocate B.K. Singh.
Frequently asked questions
Which districts go to the Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court?
The Nagpur Bench hears cases from the Vidarbha districts, including Nagpur, Wardha, Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur, Gadchiroli, Amravati, Akola, Washim, Buldhana and Yavatmal. For any taluka near a boundary, check the court's notification or the cause list.
Does Pune come under the Mumbai principal seat?
Yes. Cases from Pune district go to the principal seat at Mumbai. Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Solapur, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg have gone to the Kolhapur circuit bench since August 2025.
Can a Delhi advocate appear in the Bombay High Court?
Yes. An advocate enrolled with any State Bar Council can practise before any High Court. The firm works from Delhi with associate counsel at the relevant seat for filing and local practice, and appears in person or by video where allowed.
What is the original side of the Bombay High Court?
It is the High Court's power to try civil suits from Greater Mumbai directly, like a trial court. At present suits above Rs 10 crore go there, and smaller ones to the City Civil Court; check the current limit before filing.
My wife filed an FIR in Mumbai. Can I get it quashed in the Delhi High Court?
No. An FIR registered in Mumbai is challenged in the Bombay High Court. For protection from arrest in the meantime, apply for anticipatory bail before the Sessions Court in Mumbai, or seek short transit protection from a Delhi court in suitable cases.
Do I need to translate Marathi documents for the Bombay High Court?
Generally yes. Proceedings are in English, so FIRs, statements and orders in Marathi are filed with English translations. Start the translation early, as it often takes longer than the drafting.
How quickly can a bail matter be heard in the Bombay High Court?
The first listing is often within days to a few weeks of filing, and urgent matters can be mentioned for earlier listing. The decision may come at the first hearing or after the State files its reply, which can take a few weeks.
Is this the official website of the Bombay High Court?
No. This is the website of B.K. Singh & Associates, a private law firm in Delhi. For official case status, cause lists and orders, use bombayhighcourt.nic.in.