Heritage Buildings in George Town Area of Rajaji Salai -The Madras High Court

Coming to the Heritage Buildings on Rajaji Salai[NSC Bose Road] of George Town area, I went on to see and to learn more about our prestigious - The Madras High Court.  

The Madras High Court is one of the greatest landmarks of Chennai city. Even though Madras was renamed as Chennai, the High Court is still called as Madras High Court. The Madras High Court was built in the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture under the guidance of the famous architect Henry Irwin in the year of 1892 AD. 

The Madras High Court, along with the High Courts of Kolkata and Mumbai, are the only three High Courts in India which were started by the British. This is arguably the second largest judicial complex in the world. This is located at NSC Bose Road diagonally opposite to Parry’s corner building.

The Madras High Court [Tamil: சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்றம்] is a senior court located at Chennai [Madras], in India.  The court buildings, which are believed to be the second largest judicial complex in the world are located near the beach, in one of the city's major business districts.

The jurisdiction of the Madras High Court covers Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

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 Indian legislation. However, the Constitution of India recognises the status of the older courts.

The Madras High Court was formed by merging together 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 has remained as the Madras High Court.

The building of the High Court, an exquisite example of Indo- Saracenic style of architecture, was built in 1892 with the design prepared by J.W. Brassington and later under the guidance of the famed architect Henry Irwin, who completed it with the assistance of J.H. Stephens. The High Court building was damaged in the shelling of Madras by S.M.S. Emden on 22 September 1914, at the beginning of the First World War. It remains one of the very few Indian buildings to have been damaged by a German attack.

The minarets or domes are atop the building represent architectural excellence and are exquisitely beautiful.  

There are several matters of architectural interest in the High Court. The painted ceilings and the stained glass doors are masterpieces in themselves. The old lighthouse of the city is housed within the High Court campus, but is unfortunately poorly maintained and is in disrepair.

The Department of Posts has allotted a Postal Index Number [PIN] code of 600 104 to the zone occupied by the Madras High Court. The boundaries of the High Court complex are marked by two roads, namely, Prakasam Road [formerly Broadway] and Rajaji Road [the old North Beach Road], stretching northward from the statue of Rajaji in the northeast and the statue of T. Prakasamgaru in the southwest within the complex. The complex houses the largest number of courts in Asia.  


The Different stages of Pictures of the Madras High Court is given here for your viewing:

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The Madras High - Today