Now, Bombay, Madras and Calcutta High Courts to bear city names

Cabinet approves introduction of The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016

A view of the Madras High Court.

The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a change in the names of the Madras, Bombay and Calcutta High Courts to reflect the alterations in the official nomenclature of these cities to Chennai, Mumbai and Kolkata, respectively.

“The names of these cities have been changed for a few years now. [So] it is appropriate to change the names of their High Courts as well and the Cabinet has approved the introduction of the ‘The High Courts [Alteration of Names] Bill, 2016’ in Parliament,” Telecom and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after a Cabinet meeting.

The Bill will facilitate the changing of the names of the Bombay High Court as the Mumbai High Court; the Madras High Court as the Chennai High Court, said an official statement from the government, which had been silent on changing the name of the Calcutta High Court.

At present, there is no Central law under which the proposal for change of names of these High Courts can be addressed and the new legislation will enable that, an official communiqué said.