Madras High Court — Attraction in Zone 9 Teynampet

The Madras High Court is the second oldest High Court of India after the Calcutta High Court in Kolkata. It is located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. The court is one of the three High Courts in India established in the three Presidency Towns of Madras, Bombay and Calcutta by letters patent granted by Queen Victoria, bearing date 26 June 1862. It exercises original jurisdiction over the city of Chennai and appellate jurisdiction over the entire state of Tamil Nadu and Union territory of Puducherry, as well as extraordinary original jurisdiction, civil and criminal, under the letters patent and special original jurisdiction for the issue of writs under the Constitution of India. Covering 107 acres, the court complex is one of the largest in the world, next only to Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, London.

It consists of 74 judges and a chief justice who are in charge of the general policy adopted in the administration of justice. In September 2016, the centre government forwarded the names of 15 new judges to the President for his signature on their warrants of appointment. Of the 15, nine are from among lawyers and six from the subordinate judiciary.

Justice Sanjib Banerjee is the current Chief Justice of Madras High Court. He assumed office on 4 January 2021.

From 1817 to 1862, the Supreme Court of Madras was situated in a building opposite the Chennai Beach railway station. From 1862 to 1892, the High Court was also housed in that building. The present buildings were officially inaugurated on 12 July 1892, when the then Madras Governor, Beilby, Baron Wenlock, handed over the key to the then Chief Justice Sir Arthur Collins.

British India's three presidency towns of Madras (Chennai), Bombay (Mumbai), and Calcutta (Kolkata) were each granted a High Court by letters patent dated 26 June 1862. The letters patent were issued by Queen Victoria under the authority of the British parliament's Indian High Courts Act 1861. The three courts remain unique in modern India, having been established under British royal charter; this is in contrast with the country's other high courts, which have been directly established under the Indian Constitution. However, the Constitution of India recognises the status of the older courts.

The Madras High Court was formed by merging the Supreme Court of Judicature at Madras, and the Sadr Diwani Adalat. The Court was required to decide cases in accordance with justice, equity and good conscience. The earliest judges of the High Court included Judges Holloway, Innes, and Morgan. The first Indian to sit as a judge of the High Court was Justice T. Muthuswamy Iyer. Other early Indian judges included Justices V. Krishnaswamy Iyer and P. R. Sundaram Iyer.

The Madras High Court was a pioneer in Original Side jurisdiction reform in favor of Indian practitioners as early as the 1870s.

The Madras High Court's history means that the decisions of the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are still binding on it, provided that the ratio of a case has not been overruled by the Supreme Court of India.

Although the name of the city was changed from Madras to Chennai in 1996, the Court as an institution did not follow suit and retained the name as the Madras High Court. However, a Bill to rename the Madras High Court as the Chennai High Court was approved by the cabinet on 5 July 2016, along with the change of name of the Calcutta High Court and Bombay High Court as Kolkata High Court and Mumbai High Court, respectively. The Bill called High Courts (Alternation of Names) Bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016. The Bill is yet to be passed by both Houses of Parliament. However, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution appealing to the Central Government to rename the court as High Court of Tamil Nadu since the Court serves the...

Once of the oldest building in Chennai , From 1817 to 1862, the Supreme Court of Madras, the precursor to the present Madras High Court, was situated in a building opposite the Chennai Beach railway station. From 1862 to 1892, the High Court was also housed in that building. The present buildings were officially inaugurated on 12 July 1892, when the then Madras Governor, Beilby, Baron Wenlock, handed over the key to the then Chief Justice Sir Arthur Collins

The statue of Manuneethi Cholan in the Madras High Court premises British India's three presidency towns of Madras (Chennai), Bombay (Mumbai), and Calcutta (Kolkata) were each granted a High Court by letters patent dated 26 June 1862.[5] The letters patent were issued by Queen Victoria under the authority of the British parliament's Indian High Courts Act 1861. The three courts remain unique in modern India, having been established under British royal charter; this is in contrast with the country's other high courts, which have been directly established under the Indian Constitution. However, the Constitution of India recognises the status of the older courts.

The Madras High Court was formed by merging the Supreme Court of Judicature at Madras, and the Sudder Dewanny Adawlut. The Court was required to decide cases in accordance with justice, equity and good conscience. The earliest judges of the High Court included Judges Holloway, Innes and Morgan. The first Indian to sit as a judge of the High Court was Justice T. Muthuswamy Iyer. Other early Indian judges included Justices V. Krishnaswamy Iyer and P. R. Sundaram Iyer.

The Madras High Court was a pioneer in Original Side jurisdiction reform in favour of Indian practitioners as early as the 1870s.

The Madras High Court's history means that the decisions of the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council are still binding on it, provided that the ratio of a case has not been over-ruled by the Supreme Court of India.

Although the name of the city was changed from Madras to Chennai in 1996, the Court as an institution did not follow suit, and retained the name as the Madras High Court. However, a Bill to rename the Madras High Court as the Chennai High Court was approved by the cabinet on 5 July 2016, along with the change of name of the Calcutta High Court and Bombay High Court as Kolkata High Court and Mumbai High Court respectively.[6] The Bill called High Courts (Alternation of Names) Bill has been introduced in the Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016.[7] The Bill is yet to be passed by both Houses of Parliament. However, the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly has passed a unanimous resolution appealing to the Central Government to rename the court as High Court of Tamil Nadu since the Court serves...

The Madras High Court, located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, is one of the oldest and most prominent high courts in India. It was established on June 26, 1862, by Queen Victoria’s Letters Patent, making it one of the three Chartered High Courts in British India, along with the Calcutta High Court and Bombay High Court.

Constructed in 1892 during the British colonial era, the court complex is a remarkable example of Indo-Gothic architecture, featuring minarets at the entrance, Indo-Saracenic style arched doorways, intricately designed windows, and distinct columns. As one of the largest judicial compounds in the country, it is a recognized heritage structure that has been carefully preserved over the years.

The Madras High Court has original jurisdiction over Chennai and appellate jurisdiction over the entire state of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry. Additionally, it exercises extraordinary original jurisdiction in civil and criminal matters under the Letters Patent, along with special original jurisdiction for issuing writs under the Constitution of India. The Hon’ble Chief Justice, as the head of the judiciary, is responsible for overseeing the administration of justice in the High Court and across the state. The judicial system in Tamil Nadu is composed of District Judges, Senior Civil Judges, and Civil Judges in the civil courts, while the criminal courts include Sessions Judges, Chief Judicial Magistrates, and Assistant Sessions Judges.

Located in the busy Parry’s Corner area of Chennai, the court is well connected by various modes of public transport, including buses, trains, metro trains, auto-rickshaws, and cabs. Thousands of people, including lawyers, litigants, and administrative staff, rely on the High Court for judicial proceedings and legal matters. Even after more than 150 years, the Madras High Court remains a vital institution, symbolizing judicial excellence, historical legacy, and legal...