Patna High Court


The Patna High Court of Judicature at Patna ''' is the High Court of the state of Bihar, India. It was established on 3 February 1916 by the British colonial government and was later affiliated under the Government of India Act 1915, making it one of the oldest High Courts of India.
The court is based in Patna, the administrative capital of the state of Bihar.

History of the court

A proclamation for setting up the court was issued by the governor-general of India on 22 March 1912. The foundation-stone of the High Court Building was laid on 1 December 1913 by Viceroy and Governor-General of India Sir Charles Hardinge of Penshurst. The Patna High Court building on its completion was formally opened by the same viceroy on 3 February 1916. Official work commenced on 1 March 1916. Sir Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier was the first chief justice of the court.
In 1948, the Patna High Court exercised jurisdiction over the territories of the Province of Bihar & Orissa until 26 July 1948, when a separate high court was constituted for Orissa. The Patna High Court opened a circuit bench at Ranchi in 1972. In 1976, the circuit bench of the Patna High Court at Ranchi became a permanent bench. In November 2000, under the Bihar Reorganisation Act, 2000, the circuit bench of the Patna High Court at Ranchi became the Jharkhand High Court.
Starting 18 April 2015, the Patna High Court planned a year-long centenary celebration of 100 years of establishment, and the occasion was inaugurated by the president of India, Pranab Mukherjee, and was chaired by the governor of Bihar, Keshari Nath Tripathi; the chief justice of India, H. L. Dattu; and the chief justice of the Patna High Court, L. Narasimha Reddy.

Prominent judges of the Patna High Court

  • Hon. Ms. Justice Rekha Doshit was the chief justice of the Patna High Court and the first woman to hold this office.
  • Hon. Sir Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier is the first chief justice of the Patna High Court.
  • Hon. Pandit Lakshami Kant Jha was the first Indian chief justice of the Patna High Court after independence.
  • Hon. Mrs. Justice Indu Prabha Singh, the first lady judge of the Patna High Court, holds the distinction of being the first woman judge to hold court at the Patna High Court and its Ranchi Bench.
  • Hon. Mrs. Justice Gyan Sudha Misra, the second lady judge of the Patna High Court, is the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India from Bihar.
  • The high court has given two chief justices of India.
  • * Hon. Mr. Justice Bhuvneshwar Prasad Sinha, the 6th chief justice of India.
  • *Hon. Mr. Justice Lalit Mohan Sharma, the 24th chief justice of India.

    Chief Justice and Judges

The following are serving as the judges of the court.

Former chief justices

The following have served as chief justices of the court.
#Chief justiceFromToRemarks
1Sir Edward Maynard Des Champs Chamier1 March 191630 October 1917
2Sir Thomas Fredrick Dawson Miller31 October 191731 March 1928
3Sir Courtney Terrell31 March 19286 May 1938
4Sir Arthur Trevor Harries10 October 193819 January 1943
5Sir Syed Fazl Ali19 January 194314 October 1946
6Sir Clifford Monmohan Agarwala9 January 194824 January 1950
7Sir Herbert Ribton Meredith25 January 19508 April 1950
8Pandit Lakshami Kant Jha8 April 19501 June 1952
9David Ezra Reuben1 June 19522 September 1953
10Syed Jaffer Imam3 September 195310 January 1955
11Sudhansu Kumar Das10 January 195530 April 1956
12Vaidyanathier Ramaswami30 April 19564 January 1965
13Ramaswamy Lakshmi Narasimhan4 January 19652 August 1968
14Satish Chandra Mishra9 November 19685 September 1970
15Ujjal Narayan Sinha5 September 197029 September 1972
16Nand Lall Untwalia29 September 19723 October 1974
17Shyam Nandan Prasad Singh3 October 19741 May 1976
18Krishna Ballabh Narayan Singh19 July 197612 March 1982
19Surjit Singh Sandhawalia29 November 198327 July 1987
20Bhagwati Prasad Jha2 January 19882 January 1988
21Dipak Kumar Sen1 May 19881 May 1989
22Shushil Kumar Jha19 October 198923 October 1989
23Gangadhar Ganesh Sohani24 October 198917 December 1990
24Bimal Chandra Basak18 March 199121 October 1994
25K. S. Paripoornan24 January 199411 June 1994
26K. Venkataswamy19 September 19946 March 1995
27G.P. Patnaik19 May 199511 September 1995
28D.P. Wadhwa29 September 199521 March 1997
29B.M. Lal9 July 19976 October 1999
30Ravi S. Dhavan25 January 200022 July 2004
31J.N. Bhatt18 July 200516 October 2007
32Rajesh Balia5 January 20083 March 2008
33R.M. Lodha13 May 200816 December 2008
34J. B. Koshy16 3 200912 5 2009
35Prafulla Kumar Mishra12 8 200916 9 2009
36Dipak Misra23 December 200924 June 2010Elevated to Supreme Court on 10 October 2011. Took oath as Chief Justice of India on 28 August 2017
37Rekha Manharlal Doshit21 June 201013 December 2014Transferred from Gujarat High Court
38L. Narasimha Reddy2 January 201531 July 2015
39Iqbal Ahmed Ansari29 August 201628 October 2016
40Rajendra Menon15 March 20178 August 2018Transferred from Madhya Pradesh High Court. Transferred to Delhi High Court as its Chief Justice
41Mukesh Shah12 August 20181 November 2018Transferred from Gujarat High Court. Elevated to Supreme Court of India
42Amreshwar Pratap Sahi17 November 201810 November 2019Transferred from Allahabad High Court. Transferred to Madras High Court as its Chief Justice
43Sanjay Karol11 November 20195 February 2023Transferred from Tripura High Court. Elevated to Supreme Court of India
44Krishnan Vinod Chandran27 March 202315 January 2025Transferred from Kerala High Court. Elevated to Supreme Court of India
45Vipul Manubhai Pancholi21 July 202528 August 2025Transferred from Gujarat High Court. Elevated to Supreme Court of India
46P. B. Bajanthri21 September 202522 October 2025Transferred from Gujarat High Court.

Judges elevated to Supreme Court

Currently serving

Former Judges

Judges elevated as Chief Justices

List of Former Judges (Arranged in alphabetical order)

JudgeSourceTerm StartTerm EndTenureParent High CourtRemarks
A. K. Ganguly04-Apr-199403-Feb-2012
A. N. Trivedi
A. B. N. Sinha06-May-196315-Sep-1970
A. W. E. Wort, Barrister- at- law
Abhayapda Mukherji
Abhijit Sinha03-Nov-2008
Abhiram Singh18-Nov-198202-Mar-1988
Achalendra Nath Mukherji06-Apr-197001-Aug-1975
Aditya Kumar Trivedi20-Jun-201110-Aug-2020
Aditya Narayan Chaturvedi18-Sep-199118-Jan-1997
Aftab Alam27-Jul-199018-Apr-2013
Ahmad Saiyid Anwar08-Nov-196528-Feb-1975
Akhilesh Chandra15-Mar-201015-Mar-2015
Amaresh Kumar Lal20-Jun-2011
Amir Das02-Dec-199101-Jan-1996
Anand Prasad Sinha18-Nov-198210-Sep-1986
Ananta Manohar Badar20-Oct-202109-Aug-2023
Anil Kumar Sinha29-Dec-199808-Jan-2004
Anil Kumar Upadhyay22-May-2017
Anjana Mishra15-May-2014
Anjana Prakash13-Jun-200917-Jul-2016
Anjani Kumar Sharan17-Apr-201909-Apr-2025
Anwar Ahmad10-May-2006
Arthur Edgar Scroope31-Jan-1927
Arun Kumar09-Dec-201621-Aug-2018
Arvind Singh Chandel08-Jun-202431-Aug-2025
Arvind Srivastava09-Dec-201603-Apr-2024
Ashok Kumar Verma16-Dec-199928-Jan-2004
Ashoke Kumar Prasad16-Oct-199710-Apr-2001
Ashwani Kumar Singh20-Jun-201131-Oct-2022
Ashwini Kumar Sinha18-Nov-198211-Aug-1987
B. K. Jha01-Mar-200201-Feb-2005
B. K. Roy31-Oct-198826-Dec-2006
B. L. Yadav28-Apr-199405-Apr-1996
B. P. Jamuar18-Jul-194927-Sep-1958
B. N. Agrawal17-Nov-198615-Oct-2009
B. N. Rai25-Jan-195011-Jan-1960
B. N. Sinha17-Nov-198601-Jan-1992
B. N. P. Singh01-Jul-200118-Apr-2004
B. N. Singh16-Mar-199410-Feb-2001
B. P. Singh09-Mar-198708-Jul-2007
Bageshwari Prasad Griyaghey18-Nov-198214-Aug-1986
Baidyanath Jha21-Mar-196717-Nov-1971
Balmiki Prasad Sinha21-Mar-196712-Jan-1971
Barin Ghosh07-Jan-200504-Jun-2014
Bharat Prasad Sharma09-May-199623-Jan-2000
Bhubaneshwan Dhari Singh05-Feb-196801-Nov-1977
Bhuvaneshwar Prasad13-Sep-198720-Oct-1991
Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Pandey05-Mar-1945
Bhuvaneshwar Prasad Sinha19-Jan-194301-Feb-1964
Binodanand Singh04-Dec-1981
Bira Kishore Ray23-Jul-1945
Birendra Prasad Sinha03-Jan-197515-Nov-1990
Birendra Prasad Verma18-Feb-201016-Jan-2017
Brishketu Saran Sinha10-Mar-197612-Jan-1985
C. Aikinson K.C., Barrister - At- Law
C. H. A. Bennell, Barrister-at-law
C. M. Prasad24-Mar-2003
C. S. S. Sinha03-Jan-197715-Jun-1981
Chandra Narain Tiwary12-Apr-197301-Aug-1979
Chandra Prakash Singh04-Jun-202222-Dec-2025
Chandramauli Kumar Prasad08-Nov-199414-Jul-2014
Chandreshwar Prasad Sinha
Chandrika Prasad Sinha06-Apr-197001-Apr-1976
D. N. Prasad29-Dec-199814-Aug-2003
D. H. Kingsford27-Apr-1916I.C.S
D. P. S. Choudhary29-Dec-199828-Mar-2002
Daljeet Singh Dhaliwal21-Jul-199422-Jul-1998
Dharampal Sinha
Dharnidhar Jha03-Mar-201407-Sep-2015
Dinesh Kumar Singh18-Feb-201002-Oct-2020
Dr. T. Thornhill, Barrister - At- Law
Dr. Mukundakam Sharma14-Feb-199418-Sep-2011
Durga Prasad Sinha12-Apr-197301-May-1978
E. P. Chapman01-Mar-191626-Oct-1918I.C.S.
F. G. RowlandI.C.S
F. F. Madan20-Jul-1936
F. R. Roe01-Mar-1916I.C.S
Francis George Rowland23-May-192914-Feb-1944
G. S. Chaube09-May-199620-Jul-2000
G. C. Bharukha27-Jul-199015-Jun-2003
Ghanshyam Prasad24-Jan-200528-Jan-2009
Girija Nandan Prasad10-Nov-196007-Mar-1973
Gobind Mohan Misra21-Jul-197601-Jan-1981
Gopal Prasad15-Mar-201006-Jul-2016
H. F. E. B. Foster12-Nov-1919
H. L. Agarwal12-Apr-197301-Aug-1989
H. L. L. AllansonI.C.S
Harry Llewellyn Lyons Allanson11-Apr-1928
Hemant Kumar Srivastava12-Aug-201001-Feb-2021
I. P. Singh10-Jul-199001-Sep-2007
J. A. Saunders11-Jul-1933I.C.S
J. G. Shearer22-Jul-194008-Jan-1953
Dr. J.N. Dubey28-Apr-199415-Jul-1999
Jayanandan Singh09-Oct-200630-Sep-2014
Jitendra Mohan Sharma21-Apr-201401-Jul-2018
Jitendra Narain24-May-197101-Feb-1976
Jugal Kishore Narayan22-Jan-1948
Jyoti Saran13-Jun-200918-Aug-2019
K. B. Sinha18-Nov-198201-Jan-1992
Kali Kumar Banergi
Kamla Sahai
Kamta Kanta Datta15-Nov-196512-Apr-1970
Kanhaijaji22-Apr-196802-Feb-1972
Khan Bahadur Khwaja Mohammad Noor27-Oct-193028-Sep-1939
Kishore Kumar Mandal10-Jul-200721-Jan-2018
Kulwant Sahay27-Nov-192222-Jan-1934
L. C. Adami12-Nov-191917-Mar-1931I.C.S.
L. P. N. Sahadeo17-Nov-198631-Jan-1992
Lalit Mohan Sharma
Lok Nath Prasad19-Oct-199219-Sep-1998
Madan Mohan Prasad18-Nov-198213-Oct-1986
Madan Mohan Prasad24-May-197116-Oct-1978
Madhavendra Saran10-May-2006
Mahabir Prasad, Barrister-at-law12-Jan-1948
Mahendra Prasad Verma11-Nov-196616-Oct-1971
Maheshwar Pradesh Verma08-Mar-197917-Nov-1987
Mandhata Singh09-Feb-200920-Nov-2013
Manohar Lal Visa29-Dec-199828-Feb-2006
Manohar Lall19-Jul-1937
Manoranjan Prasad25-Nov-197701-Sep-1981
Medini Prasad Singh10-Mar-197601-Jan-1982
Mihir Kumar Jha10-Jul-200701-Dec-2015
Mridula Mishra11-Feb-2004
Muneshwari Sahay28-May-197423-Oct-1978
Mungeshwar Sahoo15-Mar-201031-Oct-2017
N. Pandey31-Oct-198820-Mar-2001
N. S. Rao13-Sep-198704-Jan-1994
Nagendra Prasad Singh12-Apr-197325-Dec-1996Former Judge Supreme Court Of India
Nagendra Rai10-Jul-1990
Nageshwar Prasad28-Jan-1949
Nanumani Prasad Singh10-Jul-199011-Sep-1999
Naqui Imam30-Aug-1954
Narendra Narayan Singh09-May-199615-Mar-2000
Naresh Kumar Sinha19-Oct-199212-Apr-1999
Nazir Ahmad04-Dec-198101-May-1986
Nilu Agrawal15-Apr-2015
O. N. Asthana21-Feb-199410-Apr-1997
Om Prakash10-Jul-199008-Jul-1993
P. H. L. Brough19-Oct-194218-Sep-1943
P. K. Sinha16-Dec-199906-Mar-2005
P. N. Yadav02-Jul-200104-Jan-2005
P. K. Sarkar09-May-199609-Jan-2000
Phani Bhusan Prasad13-Aug-198405-Sep-1990
Prabha Shankar Mishra18-Nov-198213-Aug-1998
Prabhat Kumar Jha21-Apr-201415-Jul-2021
Prafula Kumar Benerji05-Feb-196824-Feb-1972
Prafulla Ranjan Das
Prakash Chandra Jaiswal22-May-201729-Dec-2019
Prakash Chandra Verma08-Apr-2011
Pramod Kumar Sarin21-Feb-199427-Nov-1998
Prasanta Kumar Sen02-May-1924
Prasun Kumar Deb14-Feb-199401-Oct-2003
Prem Shanker Sahay01-Dec-197825-Nov-1986
R. B. Beevor08-Nov-1943
R. N. Lall17-Nov-198602-Apr-1991
R. N. Prasad27-Jul-199004-Aug-2006
R. N. Sahay10-Jul-199021-May-2000
R. S. Garg11-Nov-200118-Jun-2010
R. J. Bahadur06-May-196311-Nov-1970
R. L. Ross04-Nov-192020-Jul-1932
Radha Mohan Prasad02-Dec-199112-Jul-2006
Rai Bahadur Amar Nath Chatterjee01-Dec-1928
Rai Bahadur Jyotirmoy Chatterjee23-Apr-1930
Raj Kishore Prasad12-May-195530-Mar-1962
Rajan Gupta20-Oct-202113-Sep-2022
Rajendra Kumar Mishra20-Jun-201130-Sep-2021
Rajendra Prasad09-Sep-200201-Jan-2006
Rajeswar Prasad Mandal08-Mar-197920-Feb-1982
Ram Avtar Sharma12-Dec-199706-Jan-2000
Ram Nandan Prasad
Ram Naresh Thakur18-Nov-198202-Jan-1988
Ramanandan Prasad18-Nov-198223-Oct-1988
Ramchandra Prasad Sinha04-Dec-198111-Aug-1988
Ramesh Kumar Datta06-Mar-200601-Jan-2017
Rameshwar Prasad Sinha12-Apr-197311-Jul-1982
Ramratna Singh
Rati Kant Choudhary31-Dec-1968
Rekha Kumari24-Jan-200508-Jul-2008
S. B. Dhavle03-Apr-1929I.C.S.
S. B. Sanyal18-Nov-198228-Sep-1991
S. C. Mookerjee
S. K. Chattopadhyaya
S. M. M. Alam24-Jan-200502-Jan-2009
S. N. Jha18-Nov-198201-Jan-1991
S. N. Pathak16-Dec-199905-Feb-2003
S. P. Verma02-Jan-193411-Jan-1946
S. Ali Ahmad28-May-197423-May-1993
S. B. Sinha
S. K. Hom Chaudhuri28-Apr-199401-Mar-1996
S. K. Katriar31-Mar-1999
S. K. Mukherjee
S. N. Mishra02-Dec-199116-Jun-2001
Sadanand Mukherjee24-Jan-200512-Feb-2008
Saiyid Sharfuddin01-Mar-191610-Sep-1917
Samarendra Pratap09-Oct-200631-Jul-2017
Sambhu Prasad Singh21-Mar-196703-Jan-1979
Sanjay Kumar22-May-201721-Oct-2022
Sanjay Kumar09-Dec-201601-Jan-2019
Sanjay Priya09-Dec-201603-Sep-2019
Sarjan Prasad Singh
Sarjoo Prasad13-Jan-1950
Satyeshwar Roy27-Nov-197905-Jun-1992
Seema Ali Khan09-Oct-2006
Shailesh Kumar Sinha09-Oct-200607-Feb-2014
Shamim Ahshan02-Dec-1991
Shamimul Hoda31-Oct-1988
Shashank Kumar Singh27-Jul-199002-Oct-2005
Shiv Anugrah Narain21-Jul-197628-Nov-1984
Shivaji Pandey20-Jun-201107-May-2021
Shiveshwar Prasad Sinha24-May-197101-Feb-1980
Shyam Kishore Sharma10-May-200607-Jul-2014
Shyamnandan Prasad Singh
Sidheshwar Narayan
Sir B. K. Mullick01-Mar-191616-Apr-1928I.C.S.
Sir J. F. W. JamesI.C.S.
Sir John Francis William James20-May-192703-Jun-1939
Sir John Strachey Bucknill15-Nov-1920
Sir Jwala Prasad01-Mar-1916
Sir Saiyid Sultan Ahmad, Kt., Barrister-at-law09-Dec-1919
Sir Syed Ali Imam, Kt.10-Sep-1917
Sir Thomas Stewart Macpherson, Kt.06-Jul-192120-Aug-1936
Subash Chandra Jha10-May-2006
Sunil Kumar Choudhuri28-May-197625-Jun-1986
Sunil Kumar Panwar07-Oct-202114-Aug-2024
Surinder Sarup21-Jul-199421-Apr-2000
Syed Akbar Husain24-May-1971
Syed Haider Shaukat Abidi01-Sep-198815-Jul-1993
Syed Rafat Alam08-Nov-1994
Syed Sarwar Ali06-Apr-197009-Sep-1984
Syed Shah Nayyar Hussain24-Mar-2004
Syed Shamsul Hasan23-Nov-197708-Apr-1990
Syed Wasiuddin
T. G. N. Ayyar21-Jul-1943
T. Luby02-Jul-1934
T. Meena Kumari27-Oct-201022-Mar-2013
Tarkeshwar Prasad Singh02-Mar-2002
Udai Sinha31-Mar-1990
Umesh Chandra Sharma08-Mar-197928-May-1983
V. K. Gupta
V. N. Sinha24-Mar-200415-Nov-2015
Vidyanand23-May-199424-Nov-1998
Vijayendra Nath20-Jun-201112-Aug-2017
Vikash Jain20-Jun-201117-Feb-2022
Vinod Kumar Sinha09-Dec-201622-Apr-2020
Vishwanath Mishra29-May-197802-Nov-1981
W. S. Coutts, C.I.E.I.C.S.13-May-1918
W. W. Dalziel22-Jul-1946
Yadunath Sharan Singh04-Dec-198111-Oct-1987