# Gauhati High Court

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 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.

## History

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 a high court, the Gauhati High Court ceased its jurisdiction in these three states.

## Principal seat and benches

The principal seat of the Gauhati High Court is at Guwahati in Assam. The court has 3 outlying benches. These are:
* The Kohima bench for Nagaland state (established on 1 December 1972)
* The Aizawl bench for Mizoram state (established on 5 July 1990)
* The Itanagar bench for Arunachal Pradesh state (established on 12 August 2000)
Former benches, now full-fledged high courts:
* The Imphal bench (established on 21 January 1972) (Converted to a high court in March 2013)
* The Agartala bench (established on 24 January 1972) (Converted to a high court in March 2013)
* The Shillong bench (established on 4 September 1974) (Converted to a high court in March 2013)

### The Kohima bench for Nagaland state

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 was earlier a hostel, which was renovated for the Kohima bench. The inauguration of the bench was on 1 December 1972, by the Honorable Mr. Justice M.C. Pathak.
The permanent judge for the state of Nagaland is Lanusungkum Jamir. Elevated as Additional Judge on 22 May 2013.

### The Itanagar bench for Arunachal Pradesh state

The permanent bench at Itanagar was inaugurated on 12 August 2000 by A.S. Anand at Naharlagun, which is located about 13 km. from the capital town, Itanagar. The permanent judge is Pranoy Kumar Musahary.

### The Aizawl bench for Mizoram state

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, S.B. Mukherjee. The permanent judge is M. R. Pathak. Elevated as additional judge on 22 May 2013 is Michael Zothankhuma.

## List of chief justices

| # | Portrait | Chief justice | Tenure | Tenure |
| # | Portrait | Chief justice | Start | End |
| 1 | | Leonard Stone (judge) | 1947 | 1947 |
| 2 | | Ronald Francis Lodge | 1947 | 1948 |
| 3 | | T V Thadani | 1948 | 1949 |
| 4 | | Sarjoo Prasad | 1949 | 1950 |
| 5 | | Chandreswar Prasad Sinha | 1950 | 1952 |
| 6 | | Holiram Deka | 1952 | 1952 |
| 7 | | G. Mehrotra | 1952 | 1953 |
| 8 | | C. S. Row Nayudu | 1965 | 1970 |
| 9 | | S. K. Dutta | 1973 | 1973 |
| 10 | | M. C. Pathak | 1975 | 1976 |
| 11 | | M. S. Swamy | 1976 | 1977 |
| 12 | | C. M. Lodha | 6 July 1978 | 10 March 1979 |
| 13 | | Baharul Islam | 7 July 1979 | 1 March 1980 |
| 14 | | Dambarudhar Pathak | 18 April 1983 | 8 August 1983 |
| 15 | | T. S. Misra | 12 August 1983 | 14 November 1984 |
| 16 | | P. C. Reddy | 30 September 1985 | 2 November 1986 |
| 17 | | K. M. Lahiri | 1986 | 1986 |
| 18 | | K. N. Saika | 13 June 1987 | 1 March 1988 |
| 19 | | G. M. Lodha | 1 March 1988 | 15 March 1988 |
| 20 | | A. S. Raghuvir | 6 May 1988 | 21 March 1991 |
| 21 | | U. L. Bhat | 1991 | 15 December 1993 |
| 22 | | R. K. Manisana Singh | 27 January 1994 | 1 February 1994 |
| 23 | | V. K. Khanna | 1 February 1994 | 14 February 1997 |
| 24 | | M. Ramakrishna | 18 June 1997 | 12 February 1999 |
| 25 | | Brijesh Kumar | 12 February 1999 | 19 October 2000 |
| 26 | | N. C. Jain | 20 October 2000 | 5 April 2001 |
| 27 | | R. S. Mongia | 5 April 2001 | 10 June 2002 |
| 28 | | P. P. Naolekar | 10 June 2002 | 27 August 2004 |
| 29 | | Binod Kumar Roy | 27 August 2004 | 5 December 2005 |
| 30 | | B. S. Reddy | 5 December 2005 | 12 January 2007 |
| 31 | | Jasti Chelameswar | 12 January 2007 | 17 March 2010 |
| 32 | | Ramesh Surajmal Garg | 17 April 2010 | 18 June 2010 |
| 33 | | Madan Lokur | 18 June 2010 | 20 December 2011 |
| 34 | | Adarsh Kumar Goel | 20 December 2011 | 11 October 2013 |
| 35 | | Abhay Manohar Sapre | 11 October 2013 | 13 August 2014 |
| 36 | | Ajit Singh | 5 March 2016 | 5 September 2018 |
| 37 | | A. S. Bopanna | 29 October 2018 | 24 May 2019 |
| 38 | | Ajai Lamba | 24 May 2019 | 20 September 2020 |
| 39 | | Sudhanshu Dhulia | 10 January 2021 | 8 May 2022 |
| 40 | | Rashmin Manharbhai Chhaya | 23 June 2022 | 11 January 2023 |
| 41 | | Sandeep Mehta | 15 February 2023 | 8 November 2023 |
| 42 | | Vijay Bishnoi | 5 February 2024 | Incumbent |