Know Your High Courts: Calcutta High Court

Historical Background

• On July 1, 1862, The Calcutta High Court was established under the High Court's Act, 1861. It is well-known to be the oldest High Court in India. 

• The capital of West Bengal, Kolkata, houses the seat of the High Court. It also has permanent Circuit Benches in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Jalpaiguri, the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal. The Court has an approved judge strength of 72.

• The Calcutta High Court is among the first three High Courts in India that were created at the Presidency Towns by the "Letters Patent Act" granted by Her Majesty Queen Victoria, bearing date June 26, 1862. It is the oldest High Court in India.

Foundation

• It was established as the High Court of Judicature at Fort William on July 1, 1862, under the High Courts Act, 1861, which was preceded by the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William. As, the official name of the city changed from Calcutta to Kolkata in 2001, the Court, as an institution retained the old title.

• The Cabinet approved the Bill to give another name to it as Kolkata High Court on July 5, 2016, along with the renaming of its two other counterparts in Chennai and Mumbai. Nevertheless, the High Court still maintains the old name.

Jurisdiction

• It has jurisdiction across the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Mr Walter Granville, Government Architect, designed the building of Calcutta High Court on the shape of the 'Stadt-Haus' or "Cloth Hall at Ypres" in Belgium.

• 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 extended its jurisdiction to cover Chandernagore (now called Chandannagar) and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as of May 2 1950.

• The Calcutta High Court broadened its Circuit Bench in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Jalpaiguri, the headquarters of the Jalpaiguri division of West Bengal.

The sanctioned strength of Judges of the Calcutta High Court at present is 72.

About the Present Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court

• Hon'ble Mr Justice Thottathil B. Nair Radhakrishnan was declared as a permanent Judge of the High Court of Kerala on October 14, 2004.

• He enrolled himself to the bar on December 11, 1983, he practiced at Thiruvananthapuram as junior to Advocate late P. Ramakrishna Pillai. Hereafter that shifted to High Court of Kerala in 1988 as junior to Senior Advocate late P. Sukumaran Nayar. 

• He was appointed by the Hon'ble the Chief Justice to deal with original petitions registered following directions of the Supreme Court about mental health issues that register as cases. He served as president of the Board of Governors of the "Kerala State Mediation and Conciliation Centre" and the President of the prestigious Kerala Judicial Academy.

• He was appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court for Telangana State on 1.1.2019. He also served as the Patron-in-Chief of the Telangana State Legal Services Authority. He was the Chief Patron of the Telangana State Judicial Academy, Secunderabad. He remained as the Chancellor of NALSR, University of Law, Hyderabad.

• He started serving as the Chief Justice of the High Court at Calcutta on 04.04.2019.

Landmark judgements by the Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court involved itself in making some significant judgements. The Court has always been applauded for protecting democracy as well as establishing the rule of law.

Criminal Law:

• Bail once granted can be cancelled if and when it is found that the accused after being released on bail abuses the liberties given to him. In other words, the behaviour of the accused after the granting of bail is an essential factor while considering any application for cancellation of bail.

Civil Procedure Code:

• Order 7 Rule 11(d) of the Civil Procedure Code has a limited application in the context that if the suit is barred under any law and such an assumption must be drawn from averments made in the plaint.

• No amount of evidence can be looked into if the law by which the defendant declares rejection of the plaint on the aspect of limitation such fact should be evident from a recitation of the plaint and does not call for any examination into any fact at all.

• In order to find out whether the suit is prohibited by Limitation under Article 58 or 59 of the Limitation Act, 1963, the same has to be manifest from a reading of the plaint and no amount of evidence can be glanced into. 

Matrimonial Issues:

• The wife lives with the husband in the matrimonial home or the joint household due to presence of her marital connection with the husband, will be considered to be affected by the domestic relationship with the husband. Thus, the words "live or "have, at any point of time, lived” appearing in Section 2(f) of the Domestic Violence Act shall include “right to live.”

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