Bombay High Court at Mumbai is one of the oldest High Courts of India; Shutterstock ID 214476823; Your name (First / Last): Lauren Gillmore; GL account no.: 56530; Netsuite department name: Online-Design; Full Product or Project name including edition: 65050/ Online Design /LaurenGillmore/POI

Shutterstock / saiko3p

High Court

Mumbai (Bombay)


A hive of daily activity, packed with judges, barristers and other cogs in the Indian justice system, the newly Unesco-recognised High Court is an elegant 1848 neo-Gothic building. The design was inspired by a German castle and was obviously intended to dispel any doubts about the authority of the justice dispensed inside.

Inside it’s quite a spectacle, with court officials kitted out in starched white tunics offset with red cummerbunds and scarlet berets, while robed barristers strut about with their chests puffed out. You are free to roam the grounds, climb the spiral staircases and attend trials, though there is a strict mobile phone ban inside courtrooms – your phone must be switched off. A small history museum has been added but is of little interest for those without a judicial fetish.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Mumbai (Bombay) attractions

1. Rajabai Clock Tower

0.1 MILES

On the Fort campus of the University of Mumbai is this 84m-high Venetian/Gothic monument, inspired by London's Big Ben. Completed in 1878, it was designed…

2. Flora Fountain

0.11 MILES

Built in 1864, this adored Gothic Revival sculpture and fountain depicts the mythological Roman goddess Flora. The fountain and its surrounds were being…

3. University of Mumbai

0.14 MILES

Looking like a 15th-century French-Gothic mansion plopped incongruously among Mumbai’s palm trees, this structure was designed by Gilbert Scott of London…

4. Eros

0.18 MILES

To experience Bollywood blockbusters in situ, the Eros cinema is the place, but it was shuttered indefinitely in 2017 by the collector’s office over…

5. St Thomas’ Cathedral

0.23 MILES

This charming cathedral, begun in 1672 and finished in 1718, is the oldest British-era building standing in Mumbai and the city's first Anglican church:…

6. DAG

0.24 MILES

This top gallery is spread over three floors of a beautifully restored cream-coloured colonial-era structure. Its quarterly-changing exhibitions are…

7. Keneseth Eliyahoo Synagogue

0.26 MILES

Built in 1884, and tenderly maintained by the city’s dwindling Jewish community, this white and indigo-trimmed synagogue emerged from under years of…

8. Jehangir Art Gallery

0.27 MILES

Renovated in recent years, this excellent gallery hosts exhibitions across several galleries of all types of visual arts by Mumbaikar, national and…