In a swift and decisive move, the Supreme Court on Thursday shut down a legal challenge to the creation of a circuit bench of the Bombay High Court in Kolhapur, firmly backing the expansion of judicial infrastructure. The petition, filed by advocate Ranjeet Baburao Nimbalkar, was rejected by a Bench of Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice NV Anjaria.

Inaugurated in August by the then Chief Justice of India BR Gavai, the Kolhapur bench now covers six districts: Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg. Nimbalkar's plea contended that creating such benches should remain exceptional, not routine, as per the Jaswant Singh Commission's guidelines.

Explaining his objections, the plea stated:

"Apart from the distance consideration, these criteria included whether the litigation in the principal seat from the said area was at least 1/3rd of the total number of cases, the disposal rate at the High Court itself whether increase in the strength of judges would be an effective remedy."

The petition also cited a Supreme Court judgment emphasising that a High Court Chief Justice must consult fellow judges before approving a circuit bench. It claimed there was no material to show that such consultation took place among the judges of the Bombay High Court in this case. The advocate further cautioned that setting up the Kolhapur bench would place a significant administrative burden on the High Court.