Karnataka Chief Minister D K Shivakumar has announced that the state government plans to establish a new 15-acre campus for the Karnataka High Court at the Race Course premises, citing the space constraints of the court’s current British-era complex in Bengaluru.
Shivakumar, who also holds the law portfolio, made the announcement at the 34th convocation of the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru on Saturday. He said the state Cabinet would take a decision on the proposed site at its next meeting.
The Karnataka High Court currently functions from the Attara Kacheri complex, a historic building that houses the state’s principal judicial institution. The chief minister described the court’s space shortage as an issue requiring attention and expressed hope that Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru would see the project begin before the end of his tenure.
“We have decided to have a new campus of 15 acres on the Race Course premises. Within the next Cabinet, we will make a decision,” Shivakumar said, according to the account of the event.
The announcement does not yet provide details on the proposed campus’s design, construction timeline, estimated cost, funding arrangement or the process through which the land would be transferred and developed. Those elements would need to follow the Cabinet decision and subsequent administrative and institutional approvals.
The proposed move would involve more than a change of address for the High Court. Court campuses require facilities for judges, lawyers, litigants, court staff, records, security and public access. Any new complex would therefore have to accommodate the operational requirements of a high-volume judicial institution while also addressing access and circulation within a busy central Bengaluru location.
The proposed site at Race Course is located in an established urban district with major public institutions and transport links. The source report does not specify how the project would affect surrounding roads, parking, public transport or access arrangements. These details are likely to become relevant if the proposal advances beyond the Cabinet stage.
Shivakumar’s announcement came during a ceremony at which Chief Justice of India Surya Kant urged graduating law students to uphold fairness, listen to unheard voices and avoid expedient shortcuts. The event was attended by Karnataka Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru, NLSIU faculty, judges, students and other dignitaries.
The convocation had earlier been postponed after objections from a section of students regarding the presence of the Chief Justice of India and Bar Council of India Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra. It was subsequently held with 330 law students receiving degrees, including six doctoral graduates, while 1,390 students completed online programmes.
The next formal milestone for the High Court campus proposal is the Karnataka Cabinet meeting referred to by the chief minister. Until that decision is taken, the location remains a proposed site and the project’s cost, design and implementation schedule have not been announced.
