Sir Colley Harman Scotland (16 June 1818 – 20 January 1903) was the first Chief Justice of the

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 ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

. Scotland was born in the West Indies, the son of Thomas Scotland, Registrar of

Antigua Antigua ( ; ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the local population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the most populous island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua ...

and deputy-paymaster of the British forces in Jamaica, and his wife, Sarah Haverkam. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1843, and joined the Oxford Circuit. After the death of Sir Henry Davison, Scotland was in February 1961 appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Madras, receiving at the same time the customary

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

. He arrived at

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

on 23 May 1861 and was sworn in on 24 May 1861. In June the following year the an act altered the courts, and he was reappointed as the first Chief Justice of the

from 1862 to 1871. He also served as the Vice Chancellor of the

University of Madras The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

from 1862 to 1871. Scotland married in 1854 a daughter of John Joseph Bygrave, but she died after only five years in 1859. He did not re-marry. He died at his residence in Queen′s gate gardens, London, on 20 January 1903.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scotland, Colley Harman 1818 births 1903 deaths Knights Bachelor Chief justices of the Madras High Court Vice chancellors of the University of Madras Members of the Middle Temple British India judges