The Calcutta High Court (Bengali: কলকাতা উচ্চ আদালত) is the oldest High Court in India. It was established as the High Court of Judicature at Fort William on July 1, 1862 under the High Courts 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 is an exact replica of the Stand Hans in Ypres, Belgium. It is recorded that when the original burnt down, a blue print of Granville's Calcutta High Court had to be consulted before rebuilding it.
The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 63. Despite the name of the city having officially changed from Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001, the old name is retained by the court as it is an institution.
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History
The Calcutta High Court opened with 13 puisne judges. The first Indian judge Sambhunath Pandit assumed the charge on 22 January, 1863.
Permanent seat and benches
The seat of the Calcutta High Court is at Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. It also has a permanent circuit bench in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Chief Justice
Sir Barnes Peacock was the first Chief Justice of the High Court. He assumed the charge when the court was founded on 1 July, 1862. Ramesh Chandra Mitra 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 current Chief Justice is Mohit Shantilal Shah. He assumed the charge on 24 December, 2009.[1]
List of former Chief Justices
| Chief Justice | Term |
|---|---|
| Chittatosh Mookerjee | 1 November, 1986–1 November, 1987 |
| N.P. Singh | 4 February, 1992–14 June, 1992 |
| V.N. Khare | 2 February, 1996–20 March, 1997 |
| Ashok Kumar Mathur | 22 December, 1999–6 June, 2004 |
| Altamas Kabir (acting) | 11 January, 2005–19 March, 2005 |
| V.S. Sirpurkar | 20 March, 2005–11 January, 2007 |
| Surinder Singh Nijjar | 8 March, 2007–16 November, 2009 |
| Bhaskar Bhattacharya (acting) | 16 November, 2009–24 December, 2009 |
Notes
- ^ "New chief justice vows to take justice to the poor". The Times of India. 25 December, 2009. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata-/New-chief-justice-vows-to-take-justice-to-the-poor/articleshow/5376036.cms. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
References
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