Gauhati High Court

Indian High Court jurisdiction

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Gauhati High Court

Guwahati High Court Building

26°11′29″N 91°45′05″E﻿ / ﻿26.1913°N 91.7514°E﻿ / 26.1913; 91.7514
Established| 5 April 1948; 76 years ago (1948-04-05)
Jurisdiction| Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram
Location| Principal Seat: Guwahati, Assam
Circuit Benches: Kohima, Aizawl & Itanagar
Coordinates| 26°11′29″N 91°45′05″E﻿ / ﻿26.1913°N 91.7514°E﻿ / 26.1913; 91.7514
Composition method| Presidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of respective state.
Authorized by| Constitution of India
Appeals to| Supreme Court of India
Judge term length| mandatory retirement by age of 62
Number of positions| 30 (Permanent 22; Additional 8)
Website| www.ghconline.gov.in
Chief Justice
Currently| Vijay Bishnoi
Since| 5 February 2024

The  Gauhati High Court was promulgated by governor general of India on 1 March 1948 after the Government of India Act 1935 was passed, establishing the high court with effect from 5 April 1948, for the then-province of Assam. It was originally known as the High Court of Assam and Nagaland, but renamed as Gauhati High Court in 1971 by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.

It has largest jurisdiction in terms of states, with its area covering the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram.

## History[edit]

After Indian independence, the Assam Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution on 9 September 1947 that a High Court be established for the Province of Assam. In exercise of power conferred by the Government of India Act 1935, the Governor General of India on 1 March 1948 promulgated the Assam High Court Order, 1948, establishing the High Court of Assam. It was inaugurated on 5 April 1948 by H. J. Kania, the chief justice of India. Sir R.F. Lodge was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the Assam High Court on the same day. The Assam High Court initially had its sittings at Shillong but shifted to Guwahati on 14 August 1948.

Later, when Nagaland state was created on 1 December 1963, the Assam High Court was renamed as the High Court of Assam and Nagaland.

On re-organization of the northeastern region of India by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, the High Court of Assam and Nagaland was abolished with effect from 21 January 1972 by section 28(1)(a) of the Act. The Courts of Judicial Commissioners for Manipur and Tripura, which were functioning as high courts, were also abolished by section 30(1) of the Act. In place of these three entities, a common high court for five states, named Gauhati High Court, was established by section 28(1)(b) of the Act. This High Court was given jurisdiction over the then union territories of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram by section 32 of the Act.

After Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura got a high court, the Gauhati High Court ceased its jurisdiction in these three states.

## Principal seat and benches[edit]

[1] The principal seat of the Gauhati High Court is at Guwahati in Assam. The court has 3 outlying benches. These are:

1. The Kohima bench for Nagaland state (established on 1 December 1972)
2. The Aizawl bench for Mizoram state (established on 5 July 1990)
3. The Itanagar bench for Arunachal Pradesh state (established on 12 August 2000)

Former benches, now full-fledged high courts:

1. The Imphal bench (established on 21 January 1972) (Converted to a high court in March 2013)
2. The Agartala bench (established on 24 January 1972) (Converted to a high court in March 2013)
3. The Shillong bench (established on 4 September 1974) (Converted to a high court in March 2013)

### The Kohima bench for Nagaland state[edit]

The Kohima bench is located on the eastern slope of the Ministers' Hill in the capital city of Nagaland, Kohima. The building where the Kohima bench is was earlier a hostel, which was renovated for the Kohima bench. The inauguration of the bench was on 1 December 1972, by the Honorable Mr. Justice M.C. Pathak.[citation needed]

The permanent judge for the state of Nagaland is Lanusungkum Jamir.[2] Elevated as Additional Judge on 22 May 2013.

### The Itanagar bench for Arunachal Pradesh state[edit]

The permanent bench at Itanagar was inaugurated on 12 August 2000 by A.S. Anand at Naharlagun, which is located about 13 km. from the capital town, Itanagar. The permanent judge is Pranoy Kumar Musahary.

### The Aizawl bench for Mizoram state[edit]

The Aizawl permanent bench is situated at the capital city of Mizoram, Aizawl. On 5 July 1990, the Aizawl permanent bench of the Gauhati High Court was established and inaugurated by the then-chief justice of India, S.B. Mukherjee.[citation needed] The permanent judge is M. R. Pathak.[3] Elevated as additional judge on 22 May 2013 is Michael Zothankhuma.[3]

## List of chief justices[edit]

#  | Chief justice  | Tenure

|
|

Start  | End
1  | Leonard Stone (judge) | 1947  | 1947
2  | Ronald Francis Lodge | 1947  | 1948
3  | T V Thadani  | 1948  | 1949
4  | Sarjoo Prasad  | 1949  | 1950
5  | Chandreswar Prasad Sinha | 1950  | 1952
6  | Holiram Deka  | 1952  | 1952
7  | G. Mehrotra  | 1952  | 1953
(6)  | Holiram Deka  | 1954  | 1957
(7)  | G. Mehrotra  | 1957  | 1958
(6)  | Holiram Deka  | 1958  | 1960
(7)  | G. Mehrotra  | 1960  | 1965
8  | C. S. Row Nayudu  | 1965  | 1970
(7)  | G. Mehrotra  | 1970  | 1973
9  | S. K. Dutta  | 1973  | 1973
(8)  | C. S. Row Nayudu  | 1973  | 1974
(9)  | S. K. Dutta  | 1974  | 1975
10  | M. C. Pathak  | 1975  | 1976
11  | M. S. Swamy  | 1976  | 1977
(10)  | M. C. Pathak  | 1977  | 1978
(11)  | M. S. Swamy  | 1978  | 1978
12  | C. M. Lodha  | 6 July 1978  | 10 March 1979
13  | Debi Singh Tewatia | 10 March 1979  | 30 September 1985
14  | P. C. Reddy  | 30 September 1985  | 2 November 1986
15  | K. M. Lahiri  | 1986  | 1986
16  | T. S. Misra  | 1986  | 1988
17  | G. M. Lodha  | 1 March 1988  | 15 March 1988
18  | A. S. Raghuvir  | 6 May 1988  | 21 March 1991
19  | R. K. Manisana Singh  | 27 January 1994  | 1 February 1994
20  | V. K. Khanna  | 1 February 1994  | 14 February 1997
21  | M. Ramakrishna  | 18 June 1997  | 12 February 1999
22  | Brijesh Kumar  | 12 February 1999  | 19 October 2000
23  | N. C. Jain | 20 October 2000  | 5 April 2001
24  | R. S. Mongia  | 5 April 2001  | 10 June 2002
25  | P. P. Naolekar | 10 June 2002  | 27 August 2004
26  | Binod Kumar Roy | 27 August 2004  | 5 December 2005
27  | B. S. Reddy  | 5 December 2005  | 12 January 2007
28  | Jasti Chelameswar | 12 January 2007  | 17 March 2010
29  | Ramesh Surajmal Garg | 17 April 2010  | 18 June 2010
30  | Madan Lokur | 18 June 2010  | 20 December 2011
31  | Adarsh Kumar Goel | 20 December 2011  | 11 October 2013
32  | Abhay Manohar Sapre | 11 October 2013  | 13 August 2014
33  | Ajit Singh  | 2014  | 2015
(31)  | Adarsh Kumar Goel  | 2015  | 2015
(33)  | Ajit Singh  | 2015  | 2016
(32)  | Abhay Manohar Sapre  | 2016  | 2016
(33)  | Ajit Singh  | 5 March 2016  | 5 September 2018
(32)  | Abhay Manohar Sapre  | 5 September 2018  | 29 October 2018
34  | A. S. Bopanna | 29 October 2018  | 24 May 2019
35  | Ajai Lamba | 24 May 2019  | 20 September 2020
36  | N. Kotiswar Singh | 21 September 2020  | 9 January 2021
37  | Sudhanshu Dhulia | 10 January 2021  | 8 May 2022
(36)  | N. Kotiswar Singh | 9 May 2022  | 22 June 2022
38  | Rashmin Manharbhai Chhaya | 23 June 2022  | 11 January 2023
(36)  | N. Kotiswar Singh | 12 January 2023  | 14 February 2023
39  | Sandeep Mehta  | 15 February 2023  | 8 November 2023
40  | Vijay Bishnoi | 5 February 2024  | Incumbent

## See also[edit]

* India portal

* High Courts of India

## References[edit]

1. ^ "The Gauhati High Court – High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh". Ghconline.gov.in. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
2. ^ "Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench". Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
3. ^ a b "Gauhati High Court, Aizawl Bench".

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