Madras High Court

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The Madras High Court is an Indian high court that has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It also exercises original jurisdiction over the city of Chennai, and for the issue of writs under the Constitution of India. It is located in Chennai, with an additional bench at Madurai.

Madras High Court
Madras High Court building
Interactive map of Madras High Court
13°05′12.8″N 80°17′16.4″E / 13.086889°N 80.287889°E / 13.086889; 80.287889
Established26 June 1862; 163 years ago (1862-06-26)
JurisdictionTamil Nadu and Puducherry
LocationChennai (primary bench)
Madurai (additional bench)
Coordinates13°05′12.8″N 80°17′16.4″E / 13.086889°N 80.287889°E / 13.086889; 80.287889
MottoSatyameva Jayate
Composition methodPresidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of respective state
Authorised byConstitution of India
Appeals toSupreme Court of India
Appeals fromSubordinate courts of Tamil Nadu
Judge term lengthMandatory retirement at age 62
Number of positions75
LanguageEnglish, Tamil
Websitehcmadras.tn.gov.in
Chief Justice
CurrentlyManindra Mohan Shrivastava
Since21 July 2025

The Madras High Court was one of the three charter high courts established by the letters patent granted by the English crown on 26 June 1862, and replaced the Supreme Court of Madras, which had exercised jurisdiction over the city since 1817. It is one of the oldest high courts established in India. After the Indian independence, the high court was recognised as one of the appellate authorities as laid down by the Constitution of India adopted on 26 January 1950.

From 1862 to 1892, the High Court functioned in a makeshift building. The primary court complex in Chennai, was officially inaugurated on 12 July 1892, and is one of the largest in the world. The Madurai bench was established on 24 July 2004, and functions from a dedicated court complex in Madurai. The court has a sanctioned strength of 75 judges including the Chief Justice.

History

In the early 18th century, a Major's Court was established in Madras, which administered the English Law for the British settlements. From 1817 to 1862, the Supreme Court of Madras, was the primary court of Madras. In 1861, the British parliament enacted the Indian High Courts Act and the Indian Councils Act, which abolished the existing Supreme Courts and the Sadr Diwani Adalat, and gave power to the English crown to establish High Courts in India. The Madras High Court was one of three charter high courts established by the letters patent granted by the English crown on 26 June 1862, and is one of the oldest high courts established in India. The order was further modified with the issuance of a fresh letters patent in 1865.

After the Indian independence, the high court was recognised as one of the appellate authorities as laid down by the Constitution of India, which was adopted on 26 January 1950. While the city of Madras was renamed to Chennai in 1996, the court continued to function under the older name. Though the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed a resolution appealing to the union government to rename the court as High Court of Tamil Nadu in 2017, the name has remained the same. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court was established on 24 July 2004. The Tamil Nadu State Judicial Academy, funded by the Government of Tamil Nadu, was established in April 2001 under the aegis of the Madras High Court, to train judicial officers.

Jurisdiction

The Madras High Court has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It also exercises original jurisdiction over the city of Chennai, and for the issue of writs under the Constitution of India. Apart from civil and criminal courts, it has courts for small causes, labour affairs, industrial tribunal, transport appellate tribunal, and other special courts. The Madurai bench of the high court handles appellate cases related to the fourteen districts–Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Thoothukudi, Tenkasi, Madurai, Dindigul, Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Theni, Sivaganga, Pudukottai, Thanjavur, Tiruchirappalli, and Karur districts of Tamil Nadu.

Court complex

From 1862 to 1892, the High Court functioned in a building in Periamet, which earlier housed the Supreme Court of Madras and the collector office. Construction on the new court complex at George Town began in October 1888. The building was designed in Indo-Saracenic architecture by J. W. Brassington and later expanded under the guidance of Henry Irwin. As per the original plan, 11 court halls were planned in the main building at an estimate of ₹0.95 million (equivalent to ₹460 million or US$5.4 million in 2023). Of these 11 court halls, six were meant for the High Court, four for the small causes court and one for the civil court. An additional building to host the lawyers, which was connected to the main building.

Located close to the Chennai harbour, the court premises already incorporated a lighthouse, which was raised to a height of 175 ft (53 m) during the construction of the courthouse. Most of the material for the construction were sourced locally except the steel and ornamental tiles, and local artisans were used for the work. When the construction was completed in 1892, the cost had risen to ₹12.98 million (equivalent to ₹5.0 billion or US$59 million in 2023). It was officially inaugurated on 12 July 1892, by Beilby Lawley, then Governor of Madras, who handed over the key to the Chief Justice Arthur Collins. It is one of the largest court complexes in the world by area.

During the First World War, the high court building was damaged when SMS Emden, a German light cruiser attacked the port on 22 September 1914. The old lighthouse was closed in the later 20th century after a new lighthouse was added at the southern end of the Marina beach. The complex was subsequently expanded, and the civil and other courts were subsequently shifted to other buildings on the campus, and the main building is exclusively used by the high court.

The Madurai bench of the high court consists of a four storied building spread across 22,929 m2 (246,810 sq ft), which houses the offices, and a two storied court building, spread across 15,209 m2 (163,710 sq ft), which hosts 24 court halls, and the judges' chambers.

Composition

The court is led by a Chief Justice and has a sanctioned strength of 75 judges including the chief justice. The current chief justice is Manindra Mohan Shrivastava, who was appointed in July 2025. The judges of the court are led by orderlies who bear a ceremonial mace made of silver, a practice from the British era, which has been abadnoned in most high courts and the Supreme Court of India.

Publications

The Madras Law Journal was started in 1891, by a group of lawyers from the Madras Bar, based on an idea developed during a meet at S. Subramania Iyer's house. The journal published the judgements of the Madras High Court, along with notes and reviews of books. It is the oldest law journal in India. It was sold to Wadhwa publications in 2006, which was taken over by LexisNexis later. The Law Weekly, started in 1914, also reports the judgments of the high court.

List of judges

Chief justices

No. Judge Term start Term end
Supreme Court of Madras
1 Thomas Strange 1801 1816
2 John Newbolt 1816 1820
3 Edmond Stanley 1820 1825
4 Ralph Palmer 1825 1835
5 Robet Comyn 1835 1842
6 Edward Gambier 1842 1850
7 Christopher Rawlinson 1850 1859
8 Henry Davison 1859 1860
9 Colley Scotland 1860 14 August 1862
Madras High Court
9 Colley Scotland 15 August 1862 21 November 1871
10 Walter Morgan 22 November 1871 7 February 1879
11 Charles Turner 3 March 1879 1885
12 Arthur Collins 1885 1899
13 Charles White 1899 July 1914
14 John Wallis November 1914 1921
15 Walter Schwabe 1921 1924
16 Murray Coutts-Trotter 3 June 1924 12 May 1929
17 Owen Beasley 1929 1937
18 Lionel Leach 1937 1947
19 Frederick Gentle 12 July 1947 19 April 1948
20 P. V. Rajamannar 20 April 1948 9 May 1961
21 S. Ramachandra Iyer 16 September 1961 1 November 1964
22 P. C. Reddy 23 November 1964 30 June 1966
23 M. Anantanarayanan 1 July 1966 30 April 1969
24 K. Veeraswami 1 May 1969 11 March 1976
25 P. S. Kailasam 8 April 1976 2 January 1977
26 Govindan Nair 3 January 1977 28 May 1978
27 Ramaprasada Rao 29 May 1978 5 November 1979
28 M. M. Ismail 6 November 1979 9 July 1981
29 Ballabh Singh 12 March 1982 24 January 1984
30 Madhukar Chandurkar 2 April 1984 13 March 1988
31 Shanmughasundaram Mohan 19 October 1989 25 October 1989
32 Adarsh Anand 1 November 1989 17 November 1991
33 Kanta Kumari 15 June 1992 14 November 1992
34 K. Annadanayya Swamy 1 July 1993 19 March 1997
35 Manmohan Singh 1 July 1997 27 December 1998
36 Ashok Agrawal 24 May 1999 26 August 1999
37 K. G. Balakrishnan 9 September 1999 7 June 2000
38 Nagendra Jain 13 September 2000 30 August 2001
39 B. Subhashan Reddy 12 September 2001 20 November 2004
40 Markandey Katju 28 November 2004 10 October 2005
41 Ajit Shah 12 November 2005 9 May 2008
42 Ashok Ganguly 19 May 2008 15 December 2008
43 Hemant Gokhale 9 March 2009 28 April 2010
44 M. Y. Iqbal 11 June 2010 23 December 2012
45 Rajesh Agrawal 24 October 2013 16 February 2014
46 Sanjay Kaul 26 July 2014 16 February 2017
47 Indira Banerjee 5 April 2017 6 August 2018
48 V. K. Tahilramani 12 August 2018 6 September 2019
49 Amreshwar Sahi 11 November 2019 31 December 2020
50 Sanjib Banerjee 4 January 2021 16 November 2021
51 M. N. Bhandari 14 February 2022 12 September 2022
52 Sanjay Gangapurwala 28 May 2023 23 May 2024
53 K. R. Shriram 27 September 2024 20 July 2025
54 M. M. Shrivastava 21 July 2025 Incumbent

Judges elevated to the Supreme Court

# Judge Image Date of appointment Date of Retirement Tenure Notes
In High Court In Supreme Court High Court(s) Supreme Court Total
1 M. Patanjali Sastri[β] 15 March 1939 6 December 1947 3 January 1954 8 years, 266 days 6 years, 29 days 14 years, 295 days 2nd Chief Justice of India
2 N. Chandrasekhara Aiyar 16 July 1941 23 September 1950 24 January 1953 6 years, 194 days 2 years, 124 days 8 years, 318 days
3 T. L. Venkatarama Iyer 7 January 1951 4 January 1954 24 November 1958 2 years, 322 days 4 years, 325 days 7 years, 282 days
4 P. Govinda Menon[†] 28 July 1947 1 September 1956 16 October 1957 9 years, 35 days 1 year, 46 days 10 years, 81 days
5 Koka Subba Rao[β] 22 March 1948 31 January 1958 11 April 1967 9 years, 315 days 9 years, 71 days 19 years, 21 days 1st Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh High Court
9th Chief Justice of India
6 N. Rajagopala Ayyangar 1 November 1953 27 July 1960 14 December 1964 6 years, 44 days 4 years, 141 days 10 years, 185 days
7 A. Alagiriswami 11 August 1966 17 October 1972 16 October 1975 6 years, 67 days 3 years, 0 days 9 years, 67 days
8 P. S. Kailasam[§] 20 October 1960 3 January 1977 11 September 1980 16 years, 75 days 3 years, 253 days 19 years, 328 days 17th Chief Justice of Madras High Court
9 Appajee Varadarajan 15 February 1973 10 December 1980 16 August 1985 7 years, 299 days 4 years, 250 days 12 years, 183 days
10 Sivasankar Natarajan 15 February 1973 10 March 1986 28 October 1989 13 years, 23 days 3 years, 233 days 16 years, 256 days
11 Ratnavel Pandian 1 February 1974 14 December 1988 12 March 1994 14 years, 318 days 5 years, 89 days 20 years, 40 days Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court
12 V. Ramaswami[^] 31 January 1971 6 October 1989 14 February 1994 18 years, 248 days 4 years, 132 days 23 years, 15 days 16th Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court
13 Shanmughasundaram Mohan[^] 1 February 1974 7 October 1991 10 February 1995 17 years, 249 days 3 years, 127 days 21 years, 10 days 12th Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court
14 K. Venkataswamy[^] 24 July 1983 6 March 1995 18 September 1999 11 years, 225 days 4 years, 197 days 16 years, 57 days 26th Chief Justice of Patna High Court
15 Madhavachari Srinivasan[^][†] 2 June 1986 25 September 1997 25 February 2000 10 years, 292 days 2 years, 154 days 13 years, 269 days 13th Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court
16 Doraiswamy Raju[^] 14 January 1990 28 January 2000 1 July 2004 10 years, 14 days 4 years, 156 days 14 years, 170 days 15th Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court
17 A. R. Lakshmanan[^] 14 June 1990 20 December 2002 21 March 2007 12 years, 189 days 4 years, 92 days 16 years, 281 days 22nd Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court
18 P. Sathasivam[β][^] 8 August 1996 21 August 2007 26 April 2014 11 years, 13 days 6 years, 249 days 17 years, 262 days 40th Chief Justice of India
19 Ibrahim Kalifulla[^] 2 March 2000 2 April 2012 22 July 2016 12 years, 31 days 4 years, 112 days 16 years, 143 days 29th Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir High Court
20 Chokkalingam Nagappan[^] 27 September 2000 19 September 2013 3 October 2016 12 years, 357 days 3 years, 15 days 16 years, 7 days 25th Chief Justice of Orissa High Court
21 R. Banumathi[^] 3 April 2003 13 August 2014 19 July 2020 11 years, 132 days 5 years, 342 days 17 years, 108 days 9th Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court
22 V. Ramasubramanian[^] 31 July 2006 23 September 2019 29 June 2023 13 years, 54 days 3 years, 280 days 16 years, 334 days 24th Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court
23 M. M. Sundresh 31 March 2009 31 August 2021 Incumbent 12 years, 153 days 4 years, 116 days 16 years, 269 days
24 R. Mahadevan 25 October 2013 18 July 2024 Incumbent 10 years, 267 days 1 year, 161 days 12 years, 61 days Acting Chief Justice of Madras High Court
  • β Later became Chief Justice of India
  • § Served as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court
  • ^ Served as Chief Justice of other High Court(s) in India
  • † Died in office

See also

  • High Courts of India
  • Architecture of Chennai
  • Heritage structures in Chennai

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