Home/
IAS/
Article

When was the First Supreme Court established in India?

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: November 9th, 2023

The first Supreme Court in India was established on 26 January 1950. On January 28, 1950, the Supreme Court officially opened for business and began hearings. The Supreme Court is located at Tilak Marg, New Delhi. It replaced the Federal Court of India established by the Government of India Act of 1935. The Supreme Court replaced the British Privy Council with the Supreme Court of Appeal.

Table of content

1. First Supreme Court in India
2. Establishment of Supreme Court
3. When was the First Supreme Court established in India?

First Supreme Court in India

The High Court of Fort William, Calcutta has been established in 1774, thanks to the Regulation Act of 1773. The Calcutta Mayor’s Court served as the supreme court of British India from 1774 until the Calcutta High Court was established in 1862. The Supreme Court had taken over as the top appeals court from the British Privy Council.

On January 28, 1950, the day after it was established, a section of the Chamber of Deputies was used for the Supreme Court’s formal proceedings.
The yard was moved to the current building in 1958.
The main wing of the building is the central beam of the scales.
In 1979, the complex added two New Wings: the East Wing and the West Wing.
There are 15 courtrooms distributed among the various parts of the building.
The largest building in the central wing is the Supreme Court.

The courthouse was a two-story building with Ionic columns and an urn balustrade that was close to the Writers’ Buildings. At one time, the same building housed Kolkata’s, City Hall. The current building was built in 1832 after it was destroyed in 1792. From 1937 to 1950, a 12-year period, the Federal Court of India held its hearings in this House of Princes.

Establishment of Supreme Court

On March 26, 1774, letters of the patent were issued to establish the Supreme Court of Calcutta as a court with full authority and jurisdiction to hear and decide any lawsuits or actions brought against any of His Majesty’s subjects in Bihar, Bengal, or Orissa.

On December 26, 1800, and December 8, 1823, respectively, King George III established the Supreme Courts in Madras and Bombay.
John Jay served as Chief Justice under the Judiciary Act of 1789, along with James Wilson, William Cushing, John Blair, John Rutledge, and James Iredell as Associates.
The first Chief Justice of India was Mr. Sir Maurice Gwyer before independence. He took charge on 1 October 1937 and remained in office until 25 April 1943. Mr. M Gwyer was the Chief Justice of India in the pre-independence era.

Summary: