The Patna High Court is the High Court of the state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. It was established on 9 February 1916 and later affiliated under the

Government of India Act 1915 The Government of India Act 1915 (5 & 6 Geo. V, c. 61) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which consolidated prior Acts of Parliament concerning British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British Indi ...

. The court is based in

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

, the administrative

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used fo ...

of the state of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

History of the court

A proclamation for setting up the court was issued by the

governor-general of India The Governor-General of India (1773–1950, from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India, commonly shortened to Viceroy of India) was the representative of the monarch of the United Kingdom and after Indian independence in 1 ...

on 22 March 1912. The foundation-stone of the High Court Building was laid on 1 December 1913 by Viceroy and Governor-General of India Sir Charles Hardinge of Penshurst. Work commenced on 1 March 1916. The Patna High Court building on its completion was formally opened by the same viceroy on 3 February 1916.

Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier Sir Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier KCSI, KCIE (4 June 1866 – 17 November 1945) was a British Indian judge and the first Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. Career Sir Edward Chamier passed Indian Civil Service. He was knighted on 1 Janu ...

was the first chief justice of the court. In 1948, the Patna High Court exercised jurisdiction over the territories of the Province of Bihar & Orissa until 26 July 1948, when a separate high court was constituted for Orissa. The Patna High Court opened a circuit bench at Ranchi in 1972. In 1976, the circuit bench of the Patna High Court at Ranchi became a permanent bench. In 2000, the circuit bench of the Patna High Court at Ranchi became the

Jharkhand High Court The Jharkhand High Court is one of the newest high courts in India. It was established in 2000. The court has jurisdiction over Jharkhand state. The seat of the court is at Ranchi, the administrative capital of the state. The court has a sa ...

in November 2000, under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000. Starting 18 April 2015, the Patna High Court planned a year-long centenary celebration of 100 years of establishment, and the occasion was inaugurated by the

president of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murm ...

, Shri

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the Indi ...

, and chaired by the governor of Bihar Shri,

Keshari Nath Tripathi Keshari Nath Tripathi (born 10 November 1934) is an Indian politician, who served as Governor of West Bengal from July 2014 to July 2019. He also had additional charge for short stints as governor of Bihar, Meghalaya and Mizoram. He was a membe ...

; the

chief justice of India The chief justice of India ( IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation ...

H. L. Dattu Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu (born 3 December 1950) is a former Chief Justice of India, and the former chairman of the National Human Rights Commission. As the chief justice, he served for nearly 14 months, from 28 September 2014 to 2 De ...

; and the chief justice of the Patna High Court, L. Narasimha Reddy.

Prominent judges of the Patna High Court

* Hon. Ms. Justice '' Rekha Doshit'' was the chief justice of the Patna High Court and the first woman to hold this office. * Hon. Sir ''Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier'' is the first chief justice of the Patna High Court. * Hon. Pandit Lakshami Kant Jha was the first Indian chief justice of the Patna High Court after independence. * Hon. Mrs. Justice ''Indu Prabha Singh'', the first lady judge of the Patna High Court, holds the distinction of being the first woman judge to hold court at the Patna High Court and its Ranchi Bench. * Hon. Mrs. Justice '' Gyan Sudha Misra'', the second lady judge of the Patna High Court, is the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India from Bihar. *The high court has given two chief justices of India. ** Hon. Mr. Justice '' Bhuvneshwar Prasad Sinha'', the 6th chief justice of

. **Hon. Mr. Justice '' Lalit Mohan Sharma'', the 24th chief justice of

Judges

The following have served as judges of the court.

Former chief justices

The following have served as chief justices of the court.

References

External links

*
Jurisdiction and Seats of Indian High Courts
{{Authority control Government of Patna Buildings and structures in Patna Government of Bihar 1916 establishments in British India Judiciary of India Courts and tribunals established in 1916