Indian High Court jurisdiction This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Gauhati High Court" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) | Gauhati High Court Guwahati High Court Building Established| 5 April 1948; 74 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; 91.7514Coordinates: 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| 24 (Permanent 18; Additional 6) Website| www.ghconline.gov.in Chief Justice Currently| Rashmin Manharbhai Chhaya Since| 23 June 2022 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 of Assam 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. ## Contents * 1 History * 2 Principal Seat & Benches * 2.1 The Kohima Bench for Nagaland state * 2.2 The Itanagar bench for Arunachal Pradesh state * 2.3 The Aizawl bench for Mizoram state * 3 Judges from the High Court currently serving in the Supreme Court of India * 4 Former Chief Justices * 5 See also * 6 References * 7 External links ## 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 its High Court, the Gauhati High Court ceased its jurisdiction in these three states. ## Principal Seat & 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 at the capital Kohima, was on 1 December 1972, by the Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.C.Pathak.[citation needed] Permanent Judge for the State of Nagaland * Mr. Justice Lanusungkum Jamir (Portfolio Judge)[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 Hon'ble Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India, Dr. A.S. Anand at Naharlagun which is located about 13 km. from the capital town, Itanagar. Permanent Judge for the State of Arunachal Pradesh * Pranoy Kumar Musahary (01/07/2008 - Till Date) retired now ### 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, Mr. Justice S.B.Mukherjee Permanent Judge for the State of Mizoram * Mr. Justice M. R. Pathak (Portfolio Judge)[3] Elevated as Additional Judge of the Gauhati High Court on 22 May 2013 * Mr. Justice Michael Zothankhuma (Station Judge)[3] Elevated as Additional Judge, Gauhati High Court on 7 January 2015 ## Judges from the High Court currently serving in the Supreme Court of India[edit] * Hon'ble Mr. Justice Hrishikesh Roy, (Former Judge, Gauhati) ## Former Chief Justices[edit] # | Chief Justice | Tenure | | Start | End 1 | Leonard Stone (judge) | 1947 | 1947 2 | R. F. Lodge | 1947 | 1948 3 | T V Thadani | 1948 | 1949 4 | Sarjoo Prasad | 1949 | 1950 5 | C P 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 (8) | G. Mehrotra | 1960 | 1965 9 | C. S. Row Nayudu | 1965 | 1970 (7) | G. Mehrotra | 1970 | 1973 10 | S. K. Dutta | 1973 | 1973 (9) | C. S. Row Nayudu | 1973 | 1974 (10) | S. K. Dutta | 1974 | 1975 11 | M. C. Pathak | 1975 | 1976 12 | M. S. Swamy | 1976 | 1977 (11) | M. C. Pathak | 1977 | 1978 (12) | M. S. Swamy | 1978 | 1978 13 | C. M. Lodha | 6 July 1978 | 10 March 1979 14 | Debi Singh Tewatia | 10 March 1979 | 30 September 1985 15 | P. C. Reddy | 30 September 1985 | 2 November 1986 16 | K. M. Lahiri | 1986 | 1986 17 | T. S. Misra | 1986 | 1988 18 | G. M. Lodha | 1 March 1988 | 15 March 1988 19 | A. S. Raghuvir | 6 May 1988 | 21 March 1991 20 | R. K. Manisana Singh | 27 January 1994 | 1 February 1994 21 | V. K. Khanna | 1 February 1994 | 14 February 1997 22 | M. Ramakrishna | 18 June 1997 | 12 February 1999 23 | Brijesh Kumar | 12 February 1999 | 19 October 2000 24 | N. C. Jain | 20 October 2000 | 5 April 2001 25 | R. S. Mongia | 5 April 2001 | 10 June 2002 26 | P. P. Naolekar | 10 June 2002 | 27 August 2004 27 | Binod Kumar Roy | 27 August 2004 | 5 December 2005 28 | B. S. Reddy | 5 December 2005 | 12 January 2007 29 | Jasti Chelameswar | 12 January 2007 | 17 March 2010 30 | Ramesh Surajmal Garg | 17 April 2010 | 18 June 2010 31 | Madan Lokur | 18 June 2010 | 20 December 2011 32 | Adarsh Kumar Goel | 20 December 2011 | 11 October 2013 33 | Abhay Manohar Sapre | 11 October 2013 | 13 August 2014 34 | Ajit Singh | 2014 | 2015 (32) | Adarsh Kumar Goel | 2015 | 2015 (34) | Ajit Singh | 2015 | 2016 (33) | Abhay Manohar Sapre | 2016 | 2016 (34) | Ajit Singh | 5 March 2016 | 5 September 2018 (33) | Abhay Manohar Sapre | 5 September 2018 | 29 October 2018 35 | A. S. Bopanna | 29 October 2018 | 24 May 2019 36 | Ajai Lamba | 24 May 2019 | 20 September 2020 37 | Sudhanshu Dhulia | 10 January 2021 | 8 May 2022 39 | Rashmin Manharbhai Chhaya | 23 June 2022 | 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. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) 3. ^ a b "Gauhati High Court, Aizawl Bench". * Jurisdiction and Seats of Indian High Courts * Judge strength in High Courts increased ## External links[edit] * Gauhati High Court - Legal Directory * High Court website[permanent dead link] * v * t * e High courts of India * Allahabad * Andhra Pradesh * Bombay * Calcutta * Chhattisgarh * Delhi * Gujarat * Gauhati * Himachal Pradesh * Jammu and Kashmir * Jharkhand * Karnataka * Kerala * Madhya Pradesh * Madras * Manipur * Meghalaya * Orissa * Patna * Punjab and Haryana * Rajasthan * Sikkim * Telangana * Tripura * Uttarakhand *[v]: View this template *[t]: Discuss this template *[e]: Edit this template