The High Court at Calcutta

Since 1st July 1862

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A Brief History About

Calcutta High Court

About

The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It has jurisdiction over the State of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court building''s design is based on the Cloth Hall, Ypres, in Belgium. The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 72.

History

The High Court at Calcutta, formerly known as the High Court of Judicature at Fort William, was brought into existence by the Letters Patent dated 14th May, 1862, issued under the High Court's Act, 1861, which provided that the jurisdiction and powers of the High Court were to be defined by Letters Patent. The High Court of Judicature at Fort William was formally opened on 1st July, 1862, with Sir Barnes Peacock as its first Chief Justice. Appointed on 2nd February, 1863, Justice Sumboo Nath Pandit was the first Indian to assume office as a Judge of the Calcutta High Court, followed by legal luminaries such as Justice Dwarka Nath Mitter, Justice Ramesh Chandra Mitter, Sir Chunder Madhab Ghosh, Sir Gooroodas Banerji, Sir Ashutosh Mookerjee and Justice P.B. Chakravartti who was the first Indian to become a permanent Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. The Calcutta High Court has the distinction of being the first High Court and one of the three Chartered High Courts to be set up in India, along with the High Courts of Bombay, Madras.

Principal seat and benches

The seat of the Calcutta High Court is at Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. As per the Calcutta High Court (Extension of Jurisdiction) Act, 1953, the Calcutta High Court''s jurisdiction was extended to cover Chandernagore (now called Chandannagar) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as of 2 May 1950. The Calcutta High Court extended its Circuit Bench in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in Jalpaiguri, the headquarter of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal.

First Indian Chief Justice

Barnes Peacock was the first Chief Justice of the High Court. He assumed the charge when the court was founded on 1 July 1862. Romesh Chandra Mitter was the first Indian officiating Chief Justice and Phani Bhushan Chakravartti was the first Indian permanent Chief Justice of the court. The longest serving Chief Justice was Sankar Prasad Mitra.

The Building

The neo-Gothic High Court building was constructed in 1872, ten years after the establishment of the court itself. The design, by then government architect Walter Granville, was loosely modelled on the 13th-century Cloth Hall at Ypres, Belgium.

HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA


The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It was established on 1st July, 1862 under the High Court's Act, 1861. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court building was designed by Mr. Walter Granville, Government Architect, on the model of the 'Stadt-Haus' or Cloth Hall at Ypres in Belgium.

The seat of the High Court is Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. It also has permanent Circuit Benches in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and in Jalpaiguri, the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal. The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 72.

Establishments

High Court at Calcutta & Circuit Benches

Jurisdiction over the State of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Principal Bench Calcutta

3, Esplanade Row West, Kolkata, West Bengal, PIN – 700001


Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench

Station Rd, Nutan Para, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, PIN - 735101


Port Blair Circuit Bench

Kamaraj Road, AHW Colony, Shadipur, Port Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, PIN - 744101

Keep eyes on

CALCUTTA HIGH COURT'S CALENDAR

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