Karnataka High Court
Encyclopedia
The Karnataka High Court is the High Court
of the Indian state of Karnataka
. It is located in Bangalore
, the capital city of Karnataka. The High Court functions out of a red brick building known as Attara Kacheri. It is in front of Vidhana Soudha
, which is the seat of the legislature
of Karnataka.
, the earlier name of Karnataka. The court had District Courts, Sub-ordinate Judges' Courts and Munsiff Courts to assist it on civil cases and a Court of Sessions, District Magistrate and First, Second and Third Class Magistrates to assist it on criminal cases. In 1881, the office of the Chief Judge was created and the designated person had the utmost authority in the court. In 1930, it was renamed as the High Court of Mysore and the Chief Judge was given the new name of Chief Justice. In 1973, it got its present name of Karnataka High Court.
style. The construction of the building was supervised by Rao Bahadur Arcot Narayanaswami Mudaliar
and completed in the year 1868. It was earlier named as Old Public Offices and got its name of Attara Kacheri when the eighteen departments in the general and revenue secretariat of the Mysore Government were shifted here from their crowded premises in Tipu Sultan
's summer palace. There was a proposal to demolish this building in the year 1982. However, a public interest litigation
(PIL) was filed in order to save this old building from getting demolished. This was the first PIL to be filed in the Karnataka High court and the case was heard in the very building that was supposed to be demolished. In August 1984, the judges M. N. Venkatachaliah
and Vittal Rao pronounced a judgement that stayed the demolition.
going on to become the Chief Justice of India
and at least 13 of them including N. Venkatachala
being appointed as judges in the Supreme Court of India
.
, Sam Piroj Bharucha
and G. T. Nanavati were some of the Chief Justices who presided over this court. Presently, Justice Vikramajit Sen is officiating as the Acting Chief Justice following the elevation of Chief Justice J S Khehar to the Supreme Court of India.
and Gulbarga
. Accordingly circuit benches were set up in Dharwad and Gulbarga. They were inaugurated on 4 July 2008 and 5 July 2008 respectively
in Mysore. A high-level judicial inquiry committee was established by the Chief Justice. Later, the committee acquitted the judges as they could not find any substantive evidences
.
High Courts of India
India's unitary judicial system is made up of the Supreme Court of India at the national level, for the entire country and the 21 High Courts at the State level. These courts have jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union territories...
of the Indian state of Karnataka
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
. It is located in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, the capital city of Karnataka. The High Court functions out of a red brick building known as Attara Kacheri. It is in front of Vidhana Soudha
Vidhana Soudha
The Vidhana Soudha, located in Bengaluru , is the seat of the state legislature of Karnataka. It is an imposing building, constructed in a style sometimes described as Neo-Dravidian, and incorporates elements of Indo-Saracenic and Dravidian styles...
, which is the seat of the legislature
Legislature
A legislature is a kind of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend, and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise or lower taxes and adopt the budget and...
of Karnataka.
History
The history of the Karnataka High Court can be traced back to the year 1884 when the Chief Court of Mysore was created with three judges and was designated as the highest court of appeal, reference and revision in the State of MysoreMysore State
The Kingdom of Mysore was one of the three largest princely states within the erstwhile British Empire of India. Upon India gaining its independence in 1947, the Maharaja of Mysore merged his realm with the Union of India...
, the earlier name of Karnataka. The court had District Courts, Sub-ordinate Judges' Courts and Munsiff Courts to assist it on civil cases and a Court of Sessions, District Magistrate and First, Second and Third Class Magistrates to assist it on criminal cases. In 1881, the office of the Chief Judge was created and the designated person had the utmost authority in the court. In 1930, it was renamed as the High Court of Mysore and the Chief Judge was given the new name of Chief Justice. In 1973, it got its present name of Karnataka High Court.
Premises
The High Court is located in a building called as Attara Kacheri (meaning Eighteen offices). It is a two-storied building, red in colour and has been built in the neoclassicalNeoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style. The construction of the building was supervised by Rao Bahadur Arcot Narayanaswami Mudaliar
Arcot Narayanaswami Mudaliar
Rai Bahadur Arcot Narayanaswami Mudaliar , middle name often anglicized to Narrainswami, was a Tamil businessman, land developer and philantropist who is best known for his role in the construction of the Karnataka High Court building in Bangalore in 1868.- Early life :Narayanaswami was born to...
and completed in the year 1868. It was earlier named as Old Public Offices and got its name of Attara Kacheri when the eighteen departments in the general and revenue secretariat of the Mysore Government were shifted here from their crowded premises in Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan , also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore. He was the son of Hyder Ali, at that time an officer in the Mysorean army, and his second wife, Fatima or Fakhr-un-Nissa...
's summer palace. There was a proposal to demolish this building in the year 1982. However, a public interest litigation
Public interest litigation
In Indian law, Public Interest Litigation OR जनहित याचिका means litigation for the protection of the public interest. It is litigation introduced in a court of law, not by the aggrieved party but by the court itself or by any other private party...
(PIL) was filed in order to save this old building from getting demolished. This was the first PIL to be filed in the Karnataka High court and the case was heard in the very building that was supposed to be demolished. In August 1984, the judges M. N. Venkatachaliah
M. N. Venkatachaliah
M. N. Venkatachaliah was the 25th Chief Justice of India. He served as Chief Justice from 1993 to 1994.He had education in the old State of Mysore with Bachelor's degree in Science and Bachelor's degree in law of the University of Mysore. He commenced general practice of law in the year 1951,...
and Vittal Rao pronounced a judgement that stayed the demolition.
Judges
The High Court has a sanctioned judge strength of 40. Many judges have presided in the High Court with four of them including M. N. VenkatachaliahM. N. Venkatachaliah
M. N. Venkatachaliah was the 25th Chief Justice of India. He served as Chief Justice from 1993 to 1994.He had education in the old State of Mysore with Bachelor's degree in Science and Bachelor's degree in law of the University of Mysore. He commenced general practice of law in the year 1951,...
going on to become the Chief Justice of India
Chief Justice of India
The Chief Justice of India is the highest-ranking judge in the Supreme Court of India, and thus holds the highest judicial position in India. As well as presiding in the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice also head its administrative functions....
and at least 13 of them including N. Venkatachala
N. Venkatachala
Nanje Gowda Venkatachala is retired judge of the Supreme court of India and former Lokayukta of state of Karnataka. He was popular for his approach of taking action in each and every case he caught, many times red-handed by personally leading the raid while he was serving as Lokayukta...
being appointed as judges in the Supreme Court of India
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India is the highest judicial forum and final court of appeal as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India...
.
The Chief Justices
Raja Dharma Praveena Diwan Bahadur P Mahadevayya, Nittoor Srinivasa RauNittoor Srinivasa Rau
Nittoor Srinivasa Rao or Nittur Srinivasa Rao was a Gandhian who participated in the Indian independence movement. He was the Chief Justice of the High Court of Mysore State and also the first chief of the Central Vigilance Commission of India...
, Sam Piroj Bharucha
Sam Piroj Bharucha
Sam Piroj Bharucha was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from November 2001 until his retirement in 2002.He began his legal career as an advocate of the Bombay High Court in 1960, and was appointed an Additional Judge in 1977. His judgeship was made permanent in 1978, and in 1991 he...
and G. T. Nanavati were some of the Chief Justices who presided over this court. Presently, Justice Vikramajit Sen is officiating as the Acting Chief Justice following the elevation of Chief Justice J S Khehar to the Supreme Court of India.
List of former Chief Justices
| # | Chief Justice | Term |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | R. Venkataramaiah | 1 November 1956–16 July 1957 |
| 2 | S. R. Das Gupta | 25 July 1957–13 August 1961 |
| 3 | Nittoor Srinivasa Rau Nittoor Srinivasa Rau Nittoor Srinivasa Rao or Nittur Srinivasa Rao was a Gandhian who participated in the Indian independence movement. He was the Chief Justice of the High Court of Mysore State and also the first chief of the Central Vigilance Commission of India... |
29 March 1962–7 August 1963 |
| Acting | H. Hombe Gowda | 20 January 1964–1 August 1969 |
| Acting | A. R. Somanath Iyer | 1 August 1969–30 August 1969 |
| Acting | M. Sadasivayya | 31 August 1969–23 October 1969 |
| Acting | A. R. Somanath Iyer | 24 October 1969–22 November 1969 |
| 4 | A. R. Somanath Iyer | 23 November 1969–29 December 1969 |
| 5 | M. Sadasivayya | 30 December 1969–16 September 1970 |
| 6 | A. Narayana Pai | 17 September 1970–6 June 1973 |
| 7 | G. K. Govinda Bhat | 7 June 1973–14 December 1977 |
| 8 | D. M. Chandrashekar | 22 March 1978–25 September 1982 |
| Acting | K. Bhimaiah | 26 September 1982–27 October 1982 |
| 9 | K. Bhimaiah | 28 October 1982–10 April 1983 |
| 10 | V. S. Malimath | 6 February 1984–24 October 1985 |
| Acting | Kalmanje Jagannatha Shetty Kalmanje Jagannatha Shetty Kalmanje Jagannatha Shetty is a former judge of Supreme Court of India and retired Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court who also served as acting chief justice of the Karnataka High Court-Bio:... |
24 October 1985–27 August 1986 |
| 11 | Prem Chand Jain | 28 August 1986–16 September 1989 |
| 12 | S. Mohan | 26 October 1989–7 October 1991 |
| 13 | S. P. Bharucha Sam Piroj Bharucha Sam Piroj Bharucha was the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of India from November 2001 until his retirement in 2002.He began his legal career as an advocate of the Bombay High Court in 1960, and was appointed an Additional Judge in 1977. His judgeship was made permanent in 1978, and in 1991 he... |
1 January 1991–30 June 1992 |
| 14 | S. B. Majumdar | 2 July 1993–13 September 1994 |
| 15 | G. T. Nanavati | 28 September 1994–4 March 1995 |
| 16 | M. L. Pendse | 28 July 1995–25 March 1996 |
| 17 | S. A. Hakeem | 3 May 1996–9 May 1996 |
| 18 | R. P. Sethi | 29 June 1996–6 January 1999 |
| Acting | Y. Bhaskar Rao | 17 January 1999–8 March 1999 |
| 19 | Y. Bhaskar Rao | 9 March 1999–26 June 2000 |
| 20 | P. V. Reddi | 21 October 2000–16 August 2001 |
| 21 | N. K. Jain | 31 August 2001–20 October 2004 |
| 22 | N. K. Sodhi | 19 November 2004–29 November 2005 |
| 23 | Cyriac Joseph Cyriac Joseph Cyriac Joseph is a Justice of the Supreme Court of India.-References:... |
7 January 2006–6 July 2008 |
| 24 | P. D. Dinakaran P. D. Dinakaran Paul Daniel Dinakaran Premkumar is the Chief Justice of the High Court of the Indian state of Karnataka. He has been in the news recently for his alleged misdemeanors.- Childhood and education :... |
8 August 2008–7 August 2010 |
| 25 | J S Khehar | 8 August 2010– 12 September 2011 |
Additional bench
The Karnataka High Court bench is currently functional only in Bangalore. There has been a long standing demand for an additional bench in the northern region of Karnataka. The main reason being the location of Bangalore in the south-east corner of the state causes great hardship for people who have to visit the High Court from the distant northern regions of the state. This issue led to lot of agitations including boycott of court proceedings by lawyers in the northern region of Karnataka. The demand was finally met in the year 2006 when it was decided that circuit benches of the High Court would be set up in DharwadDharwad
Dharwad, also known as Dharwar, is a city and a DISTRICT PLACE in India's Karnataka state.Dharwad is the administrative seat of the Dharwad District. The municipality of Hubli-Dharwad covers an area of 200.23 km²...
and Gulbarga
Gulbarga
Gulbarga is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of Gulbarga District. It was formerly part of Nizam's Hyderabad state...
. Accordingly circuit benches were set up in Dharwad and Gulbarga. They were inaugurated on 4 July 2008 and 5 July 2008 respectively
Controversy
In late 2002, 14 newspapers and periodicals reported that three judges from the High Court of Karnataka were allegedly involved in a sex scandalSex scandal
A sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, famous athletes or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the...
in Mysore. A high-level judicial inquiry committee was established by the Chief Justice. Later, the committee acquitted the judges as they could not find any substantive evidences
Evidence (law)
The law of evidence encompasses the rules and legal principles that govern the proof of facts in a legal proceeding. These rules determine what evidence can be considered by the trier of fact in reaching its decision and, sometimes, the weight that may be given to that evidence...
.