Sir Matthew Richard Sausse or Sause (1809 – 5 November 1867) was an Irish

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 ...

who was the last Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Bombay and the first Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.

Career

Sausse was born in

Carrick-on-Suir Carrick-on-Suir () is a town in County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies on both banks of the River Suir. The part on the north bank of the Suir lies in the Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of "Carrick", in the historical B ...

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

into a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

family. He was the son of Richard Sausse and Jane Duffey. His brother Sir Richard Frederick (known in Spanish as Ricardo Federico de La Saussaye y Duffey) was governor of

Cartagena, Spain Cartagena () is a Spanish city belonging to the Region of Murcia. As of January 2018, it has a population of 218,943 inhabitants. The city lies in a natural harbor of the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast of the Iberian Peninsula. Cartage ...

. Sausse graduated with distinction from

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

. He first worked as the Secretary and Solicitor in the Commission to Enquire into the state of the Municipal Corporation of

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Richard Sausse became the Chief Justice of The Supreme Court of Bombay Presidency in 1859, thereafter on 23 June 1862 he was appointed the Chief Justice of the

Bombay High Court The High Court of Bombay is the High courts of India, high court of the States and union territories of India, states of Maharashtra and Goa in India, and the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. It is seated primarily ...

and served there till 1866. He was known as "Sausse the Silent" in the Court. He passed the judgment in the famous

Maharaj Libel Case The Maharaj Libel Case was an 1862 trial in the Supreme Court of Bombay, in British Raj, British India. The case was initiated by Jadunath Brajratanjee Maharaj against Nanabhai Rustomji Ranina and Karsandas Mulji. It stemmed from an editorial artic ...

case. Sausse married Charlotte Henrietta. He died of gastric fever at

Killarney House Killarney House is an Irish country home in Killarney, County Kerry, which was built as a replacement for Kenmare House (1726) as the seat of the Earls of Kenmare. The site was chosen by Queen Victoria on her visit to Ireland in 1861. First K ...

, seat of Lord Castlerosse.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sausse, Matthew Richard 1809 births 1867 deaths Lawyers from County Tipperary Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Irish barristers Knights Bachelor British India judges Chief justices of the Bombay High Court Date of birth missing