Calcutta High Court

The Calcutta High Court ( _bn. কলকাতা উচ্চ আদালত) is the oldest High Court in India. It was established on July 2, 1862 under the "High Courts Act, 1861". It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court building is an exact replica of the Stand Hans in Ypres, Belgium. It is recorded that when the original burnt down, a blue print of Granville's Calcutta High Court had to be consulted before rebuilding it.

The court is headquartered in Kolkata, capital of West Bengal. It also has a circuit bench in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 63. Despite the name of the city having officially changed from "Calcutta" to "Kolkata" in 2001, the old name is retained by the court as it is an institution.

The longest serving Chief Justice was Sankar Prasad Mitra.

References

* [http://www.ebc-india.com/lawyer/hcourts.htm Jurisdiction and Seats of Indian High Courts]
* [http://pib.nic.in/archieve/lreleng/lyr2003/roct2003/30102003/r301020036.html Judge strength in High Courts increased]
* [http://calcuttahighcourt.nic.in/ Calcutta High Court]

The Calcutta High Court is an exact replica of Lakenhalle (Cloth Hall) in Ypres, Belgium. Later on it became the Ypres Stadhuis (Town Hall.