Sir Charles Arthur Turner (6 March 1833 – 20 October 1907) was a British jurist mainly operational in India, Chief Justice of

Madras High Court The High Court of Judicature at Madras is a High Courts of India, High Court located in Chennai, India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry. It is one of ...

. He was the first

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

judge appointed directly to the

Allahabad High Court Allahabad High Court, officially known as High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, is the high court based in the city of Prayagraj, formerly known as Allahabad, that has jurisdiction over the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It was established o ...

from England.

Early life

Turner was born to Reverend John Fisher Turner at Exeter, England. After completion of study at Exeter Grammar School and at Exeter College Oxford, he was called to the Bar by

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1858.

Career

He was appointed

puisne Judge Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

in 1866 and served there for twelve years. In 1879 he became the Chief Justice of

after Sir Walter Morgan and served since 1879 to 1885. He held the post of Vice-Chancellor of Madras University In 1880 and 1882. Sir Charles Turner also served as a member of the Law Commission of India and Public Service Commission with Sir Charles Umpherston Aitchison in 1886. He was awarded Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire on 1 January 1888 on becoming Chief Justice. He became a judicial member as well as vice president of the Council of India. Turner died in London in 1907. He is buried in Brompton Cemetery between the central colonnades.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Charles 1833 births 1907 deaths Knights Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire Chief justices of the Madras High Court British India judges Members of Lincoln's Inn 19th-century English judges Vice chancellors of the University of Madras People educated at Exeter School