It was described as the 'poem in the stone' by its architect about six decades ago. Today, the majestic building of the Nagpur bench of Bombay high court stands tall in the same way just like when it was inaugurated.
The edifice is celebrating its platinum jubilee this year. Its foundation stone was laid on January 9, 1936 by the governor of Central Provinces (CP) in the presence of the first chief justice (CJ) of the high court of judicature of Nagpur Sir Justice Gilbert Stone. It was formally inaugurated on January 6, 1940 in the presence of viceroy and Stone.
The construction work was stuck up for a year owing to various reasons and it actually started only in 1937, as per Nagpur Law Journal (NLJ) records.
Medd Shaw was the architect of the complex while the work was undertaken under Sardar Bahadur Shobha Singh and constructed by Bhagwant Singh. The project incurred an expenditure of Rs 10 lakh during those days. Though questions were raised on splurging a huge amount, NLJ records say that the then judiciary justified it stating that such edifices were not made often. E Raghvendra Rao, secretary of state for the government of India played an instrumental role in establishing the building in the city.
The old records suggested that the structure was planned on the lines of Allahabad high court building - 410 feet in length, 210 in breadth and 50 feet in height with eight court rooms. It mentioned that the opening ceremony was impressive and majestic. A shamiana was erected at the proposed site opposite to commissioner bungalow and Central Provinces Band played the tune 'God save the King'.
Viceroy and CJ gave speeches before the police, who gave them a guard of honour, in dark blue uniforms. "The creamy white building was in striking contrast to the green foliage of the rising Seminary Hills which formed a grand background," the NLJ report reads. Sir Frederick Grille, a barrister-in-law degree holder was appointed as second CJ when the Cambridge-educated justice Stone retired.
Justice Sir M Bhawani Shankar Niyogi took the honour to adorn the seat of Nagpur high court's CJ in 1946 while Sir Vivian Bose was first one to occupy it coveted post in 1948 after India's independence. 1950 opened a new era in the Nagpur high court's history when on July 1 the judiciary was separated from the executive.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was not in place till 1862 in the Central Provinces region. As per the NLJ records, the judicial system in the CP and Berar was merged with Nagpur that had lapsed to the East India Company in 1861 on account of absence of heir to the Bhonsala throne along with Saugar (Now Sagar) and Nerbuddha territories and the entire region was rechristened as Central Provinces.
The step was taken as per the resolution of governor-general in council on November 3, 1861. The new region was then placed in the charge of chief commissioner assisted by judicial commissioner, three division commissioners and a secretary. Col EK Elliot was the first chief commissioner while Lt Col Spense was first judicial commissioner.
The edifice is celebrating its platinum jubilee this year. Its foundation stone was laid on January 9, 1936 by the governor of Central Provinces (CP) in the presence of the first chief justice (CJ) of the high court of judicature of Nagpur Sir Justice Gilbert Stone. It was formally inaugurated on January 6, 1940 in the presence of viceroy and Stone.
The construction work was stuck up for a year owing to various reasons and it actually started only in 1937, as per Nagpur Law Journal (NLJ) records.
Medd Shaw was the architect of the complex while the work was undertaken under Sardar Bahadur Shobha Singh and constructed by Bhagwant Singh. The project incurred an expenditure of Rs 10 lakh during those days. Though questions were raised on splurging a huge amount, NLJ records say that the then judiciary justified it stating that such edifices were not made often. E Raghvendra Rao, secretary of state for the government of India played an instrumental role in establishing the building in the city.
The old records suggested that the structure was planned on the lines of Allahabad high court building - 410 feet in length, 210 in breadth and 50 feet in height with eight court rooms. It mentioned that the opening ceremony was impressive and majestic. A shamiana was erected at the proposed site opposite to commissioner bungalow and Central Provinces Band played the tune 'God save the King'.
Viceroy and CJ gave speeches before the police, who gave them a guard of honour, in dark blue uniforms. "The creamy white building was in striking contrast to the green foliage of the rising Seminary Hills which formed a grand background," the NLJ report reads. Sir Frederick Grille, a barrister-in-law degree holder was appointed as second CJ when the Cambridge-educated justice Stone retired.
Justice Sir M Bhawani Shankar Niyogi took the honour to adorn the seat of Nagpur high court's CJ in 1946 while Sir Vivian Bose was first one to occupy it coveted post in 1948 after India's independence. 1950 opened a new era in the Nagpur high court's history when on July 1 the judiciary was separated from the executive.
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was not in place till 1862 in the Central Provinces region. As per the NLJ records, the judicial system in the CP and Berar was merged with Nagpur that had lapsed to the East India Company in 1861 on account of absence of heir to the Bhonsala throne along with Saugar (Now Sagar) and Nerbuddha territories and the entire region was rechristened as Central Provinces.
The step was taken as per the resolution of governor-general in council on November 3, 1861. The new region was then placed in the charge of chief commissioner assisted by judicial commissioner, three division commissioners and a secretary. Col EK Elliot was the first chief commissioner while Lt Col Spense was first judicial commissioner.
0 comments:
Post a Comment