Kolhapur, Aug. 17 -- Chief Justice of India (CJI) Bhushan Gavai on Sunday inaugurated the new Circuit bench of the Bombay High Court at Kolhapur, marking it as the fifth seat of the High Court.

At present, the Bombay High Court has its principal seat in Mumbai and benches in Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Goa. With Kolhapur now added, the High Court expands its reach to Western Maharashtra.

The Kolhapur Circuit Bench will have jurisdiction over six districts; Satara, Sangli, Solapur, Kolhapur, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg districts of Maharashtra. A notification regarding the bench was issued by Bombay High Court Chief Justice Alok Aradhe on August 1.

The demand for a bench at Kolhapur had been pending for over two decades, with litigants and la...