MP Supriya Sule Renews Demand for High Court Bench in Pune, Writes to CM Fadnavis
Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 5th August 2025: Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar) MP Supriya Sule has formally urged the Maharashtra government to establish a bench of the Bombay High Court in Pune, citing long-standing demands from citizens, legal professionals, and the Pune Bar Association. In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Sule emphasized the logistical, demographic, and judicial justifications for setting up a bench in the city.
Her demand comes in the wake of the recent approval for a High Court bench in Kolhapur, which has reignited Pune’s decade-old appeal for similar judicial infrastructure. “The establishment of a bench in Pune is not only necessary but also long overdue,” Sule wrote.
Highlighting the challenges faced by residents in remote parts of Pune district, Sule pointed out that people from areas such as Nira Narsingpur in Indapur taluka must travel nearly 350 kilometers to reach the Bombay High Court in Mumbai, making access to justice time-consuming, costly, and mentally exhausting.
“The distance itself becomes a barrier to timely justice. Common citizens, lawyers, witnesses — all face hardship, which violates the very principle that justice delayed is justice denied,” Sule stated in her letter.
She also welcomed the state government’s move to approve the Kolhapur bench but insisted that Pune — as one of Maharashtra’s largest and fastest-growing districts — deserves similar attention.
Why Pune? MP Lists Strong Case
MP Sule’s letter outlines several reasons supporting Pune’s suitability as a High Court bench location:
Population: Pune district’s population has crossed 1 crore.
Legal Infrastructure: The district is home to 82 district judges, 82 senior judges, 95 judicial magistrates, and 8 family courts. It also hosts special courts including the Consumer Court, Green Tribunal, Co-operative Court, and Labour Court.
Legal Workforce: Pune district has over 25,000 practicing lawyers and more than 60 law colleges.
Administrative Hub: Pune serves as the administrative headquarters for the division and houses multiple government establishments.
Economic Significance: Pune is a major IT, industrial, and educational hub, leading to a high volume of commercial, labour, and institutional legal cases.
“Given the existing legal ecosystem, manpower, connectivity, and infrastructure, Pune naturally qualifies to host a bench of the Bombay High Court,” Sule argued.
She further stated that the decentralization of the judiciary is critical to ensure equitable access to justice and that Pune, with its robust ecosystem, can effectively serve as a judicial center for western Maharashtra.
Pune: पुणे खंडपीठाच्या मागणीत आता खासदार सुप्रिया सुळे यांचीही उडी
“Establishing a bench in Pune is a just, pragmatic, and people-centric move. I urge the state government to seriously consider this demand and begin the process for setting up the High Court bench,” Sule concluded in her letter to the Chief Minister.
