Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William

The Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William, Calcutta (Kolkata) was founded in 1774 by the Regulating Act of 1773. It replaced the Mayor's Court of Calcutta and was British India's highest court from 1774 until 1862, when the High Court of Calcutta was established by the Indian High Courts Act 1861.

Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William
Established	October 22, 1774
Dissolved	1862
Location	Calcutta
Authorized by	Regulating Act of 1773
Appeals to	Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Judge term length	Life tenure
Number of positions	4 by statute

From 1774 to the arrival of Parliament's Bengal Judicature Act of 1781 in June 1782, the Court claimed jurisdiction over any person residing in Bengal, Bihar or Orissa. These first years were known for their conflict with the Supreme Council of Bengal over the Court's jurisdiction. The conflict came to an end with Parliament's passing of the Bengal Judicature Act of 1781 which restricted the Supreme Court's jurisdiction to either those who lived in Calcutta, or to any British Subject in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha, thereby removing the Court's jurisdiction over any person residing in Bengal, Bihar and Odisha.

The courthouse itself was a two storied building with Ionic columns and an urn-topped balustrade and stood by the side of the Writers’ Buildings. The building also served as the Town Hall of Calcutta at one time. It was demolished in 1792 and replaced by the present building in 1832.

The Court's first judges were:

• Sir Elijah Impey, Chief justice from 1774 to 1783 on his recall to England for impeachment.
• Stephen Caesar Le Maistre, Puisne judge from 1774 to 1777 on his death.
• John Hyde (judge), Puisne judge from 1774 to 1796 on his death.
• Robert Chambers, Puisne judge from 1774 to 1783, Acting Chief Justice from 1783 to 1791. Chief Justice from 1791-1798, on his resignation.[1]
• Sir William Jones, Puisne judge from 1783 to 1794 on his death.
• Sir William Dunkin, Puisne judge from August 14, 1791 to unknown.

Chief Justices

Chief Justice	Term	Notes
Sir Elijah Impey [2]	16 March 1774–1791	Recalled 1783
Sir Robert Chambers [2]	1791–1 Aug 1798	previously Acting Chief Justice 1783–1791
Sir John Anstruther, Bt [2]	1798–22 Feb 1806
Sir Henry Russell [2]	1807–9 Nov 1813
Sir Edward Hyde East [2]	1813–July 1822
Sir Robert Henry Blosset [2]	1822–1 Feb 1823	(died in office)
Sir Christopher Puller [2]	1823–26 May 1824	(died in office)
Sir Charles Grey [2]	1825–1832
Sir William O. Russell	22 Feb 1832–1833	(died in office)
Sir Edward Ryan	1833–1842
Sir Lawrence Peel	1842–1855
Sir James William Colvile	1855–1859
Sir Barnes Peacock	1859–1862	afterwards Chief Justice of the High Court of Calcutta

• for Chief Justices after 1862 see High Court of Calcutta

Puisne Justices

Puisne Justices	Term	Notes
Stephen Caesar Le Maistre	22 October 1774–4 Nov 1777	Died
John Hyde [2]	22 October 1774–8 July 1796	Died
William Jones [2]	22 Oct 1783–27 Apr 1791	Died
William Dunkin [2]	3 Sept 1791–1 Aug 1797	Resigned
James Watson [2]	1 Mar 1796–2 May 1796	Died
John Royds [2]	23 Oct 1797–26 Sept 1816	Died
William Burroughs [2]	3 Nov 1806–20 Dec 1815	Resigned
Francis Maonaghten [2]	1 Mar 1816–2 Mar 1825	Resigned
Antony Buller	26 Sept 1816–1 Jan 1827	Resigned
John Franks	6 Oct 1825–15 Mar 1831	Resigned
John Peter Grant[3]	17 Oct 1833–1848
Benjamin Heath Malkin	6 Oct 1835–21 Oct 1837	Died

References

1. Curley, Thomas M. (1998). Sir Robert Chambers: Law, Literature, and Empire in the Age of Johnson. University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 0299151506.
2. Auber, Peter. An Analysis of the Constitution of the East-India Company. p. 758.
3. "Grant, Sir John Peter, of Rothiemurchus (1774–1848), politician and judge". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-11273. Retrieved 3 February 2021.