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Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, Calcutta (Kolkata).1774 en.wikimedia.org |
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| 100th Anniversary (1862-1962) of the Calcutta High Court; issued on Jul 1, 1962; denomination : 15 Naya Paisewww. istampgallery.com |
The Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, Calcutta was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1774. It replaced the Mayor's Court of Calcutta and was British India's highest court from 1774 until 1862, when the High Court of Calcutta was established to settle various disputes among parties through legal means.
From 1774 to the arrival of Parliament's Bengal Judicature Act of 1781 in June 1782, the Court claimed jurisdiction over any person residing in Bengal, Bihar or Orissa during the period 1774 till 1862. There was some conflict over the jurisdiction of this court with the the Supreme Council of Bengal in the formative stages. The conflict came to an end with Parliament's passing of the Bengal Judicature Act of 1781, an amicable solution was reached to end the unnecessary conflicts. The new act has envisaged the restriction of the Supreme court's jurisdiction to either those who lived in Calcutta, or to any British Subject in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, thereby removing the Court's jurisdiction over any person residing in Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.
The courthouse functioned in a two storied building built in the Neo-Gothic style by the side of the Writers’ Buildings. The same building was used as the Town Hall of Calcutta for a particular period. This historical building was pulled down in 1792 and replaced by the present building in 1832.
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| the Calcutta High Courtindianexpress.com |
The elegant High Court building was built, using the cloth Hall, Ypres, in Belgium as a model.
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| Calcutta high court, Kolkata.commons.wikimedia.org |
On 20 September 1871 the acting Chief Justice, John Paxton Norman, was murdered on the steps of the courthouse by a Wahabi Muslim and the murderer's name was Abdulla.
The Calcutta High Court's jurisdiction was extended in 1953 though an Act 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 headquarters of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal.
Tit-Bits:
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| Sir Elijah Impey - first chief justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William in Bengal. first English judge impeached along with his pal Lord Warren Hastings. British India. |
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| Angelo-Welsh judge, and a scholar of ancient India. www.guptaranjan.com |
03.The court has a increased the judge strength to 63. Though the name was officially changed from Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001, the old name is retained by the court as it is an institution.
04. The bill to rename it as Kolkata High Court was approved by the Cabinet on 05 July 2016 along with rename of its two other counterparts in Chennai and Mumbai
Ref:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kolkata_High_Court
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Jones_(philologist)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elijah_Impey