Gauhati High Court

Gauhati High Court
Guwahati High Court Building
Interactive map of Gauhati High Court
26°11′29″N 91°45′05″E / 26.1913°N 91.7514°E / 26.1913; 91.7514
Established5 April 1948 (1948-04-05)
JurisdictionAssam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram
LocationPrincipal Seat: Guwahati, Assam
Permanent Benches: Kohima, Aizawl & Itanagar
Coordinates26°11′29″N 91°45′05″E / 26.1913°N 91.7514°E / 26.1913; 91.7514
Composition methodPresidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of respective state.
Authorised byConstitution of India
Appeals toSupreme Court of India
Judge term lengthmandatory retirement by age of 62
Number of positions30 (Permanent 22; Additional 8)
Websitewww.ghconline.gov.in
Chief Justice
CurrentlyAshutosh Kumar
Since21 July 2025

The Gauhati High Court was promulgated by the governor general of India on 1 March 1948 after the Government of India Act 1935 was passed, establishing the high court with effect from 5 April 1948, for the then-province of Assam. It was originally known as the High Court of Assam and Nagaland, but renamed as Gauhati High Court in 1971 by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971.

It has the largest jurisdiction in terms of states, with its area covering the states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram.

History

Gauhati High Court building in Guwahati

After Indian independence, the Assam Legislative Assembly adopted a resolution on 9 September 1947 that a High Court be established for the province of Assam. In exercise of power conferred by the Government of India Act 1935, the Governor General of India on 1 March 1948 promulgated the Assam High Court Order, 1948, establishing the High Court of Assam. It was inaugurated on 5 April 1948 by H. J. Kania, the chief justice of India. Sir R.F. Lodge was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the Assam High Court on the same day. The Assam High Court initially had its sittings at Shillong but shifted to Guwahati on 14 August 1948.

Later, when Nagaland state was created on 1 December 1963, the Assam High Court was renamed as the High Court of Assam and Nagaland.

On re-organization of the northeastern region of India by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, the High Court of Assam and Nagaland was abolished with effect from 21 January 1972 by section 28(1)(a) of the Act. The Courts of Judicial Commissioners for Manipur and Tripura, which were functioning as high courts, were also abolished by section 30(1) of the Act. In place of these three entities, a common high court for five states, named Gauhati High Court, was established by section 28(1)(b) of the Act. This High Court was given jurisdiction over the then union territories of Arunachal Pradesh and Mizoram by section 32 of the Act.

After Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura got a high court, the Gauhati High Court ceased its jurisdiction in these three states.

Principal seat and benches

The principal seat of the Gauhati High Court is at Guwahati in Assam. The court has 3 outlying benches. These are[1]:

The Kohima bench for Nagaland state

New Building of Kohima Bench, Gauhati High Court.

The bench of the High Court in Nagaland is located on the eastern slope of the Ministers' Hill in the capital city of Nagaland, Kohima. The building housing the Kohima bench was earlier a hostel, which was renovated for the Kohima bench. The bench was inaugurated on 1 December 1972, by the Honorable Mr. Justice M.C. Pathak.[2]

The permanent judge for the state of Nagaland is Lanusungkum Jamir.[3] Elevated as Additional Judge on 22 May 2013.

The Itanagar bench for Arunachal Pradesh state

The bench of the High Court in Arunachal Pradesh is located at Itanagar more specified at Naharlagun, which is located about 13 km from the capital town, Itanagar. The Itanagar permanent bench of the Gauhati High Court was inaugurated on 12 August 2000 by A.S. Anand. The permanent judge is Pranoy Kumar Musahary.[4]

The Aizawl bench for Mizoram state

New Building of Aizawl Bench, Gauhati High Court.

The Aizawl bench of the High Court in Mizoram is situated at the capital city of Mizoram, Aizawl. On 5 July 1990, the Aizawl permanent bench of the Gauhati High Court was established and inaugurated by the then-chief justice of India, S.B. Mukherjee.[5] The permanent judge is M. R. Pathak. Elevated as additional judge on 22 May 2013 is Michael Zothankhuma.[6]

Chief Justice and Judges

The Judges of Gauhati High Court (other than the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court) are appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, and on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. The Chief Justice of India is required to consult with two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of the High Court is also required to consult his two senior-most puisne Judges before recommending a name for appointment to the High Court.

Currently, the sanctioned strength of Judges of the Gauhati High Court is 22 permanent Judges and 8 Additional Judges. Following is the list of sitting Judges of the High Court of Delhi[7]

List of chief justices

# Portrait Chief justice Tenure
Start End
1 Ronald Francis Lodge 5 April 1948 7 April 1949
2 Thakurdas Vasanmal Thadani 28 May 1951 21 November 1952
3 Sarjoo Prasad 10 February 1953 20 February 1959
4 Chandreswar Prasad Sinha 21 February 1959 31 January 1961
5 Holiram Deka 1 February 1961 29 June 1961
6 Gopalji Mehrotra 30 June 1961 6 February 1967
7 Canakapalli Sanjeevrow Nayudu 7 February 1967 7 March 1968
8 Sarat Kumar Dutta 8 March 1968 30 January 1970
9 Parbati Kumar Goswami 31 January 1970 9 September 1973
10 Mahendra Chandra Pathak 9 January 1974 30 June 1977
11 Mahadevayya Sadanand Swami 1 October 1977 5 July 1978
12 Chand Mal Lodha 6 July 1978 10 March 1979
13 Baharul Islam 7 July 1979 1 March 1980
14 Dambarudhar Pathak 18 April 1983 8 August 1983
15 Tribeni Sahai Misra 12 August 1983 14 November 1984
16 Palem Chennakesava Reddy 30 September 1985 2 November 1986
17 Kiranmoy Lahiri 3 November 1986 19 December 1986
18 Khagendra Nath Saikia 14 June 1987 29 February 1988
19 Guman Mal Lodha 1 March 1988 15 March 1988
20 Anisetti Raghuvir 6 May 1988 21 March 1991
21 Ullal Lakshminarayana Bhat 20 August 1991 12 December 1993
22 Rajkumar Manisana Singh 27 January 1994 1 February 1994
23 Viney Krishna Khanna 24 April 1994 14 February 1997
24 Muniyallapa Ramakrishna 18 June 1997 12 April 1998
25 Brijesh Kumar 12 February 1999 18 October 2000
26 Naresh Chandra Jain 19 October 2000 5 April 2001
27 Ravinder Singh Mongia 21 September 2001 9 June 2002
28 Prakash Prabhakar Naolekar 10 June 2002 26 August 2004
29 Binod Kumar Roy 21 May 2005 29 September 2005
30 Buchireddy Sudershan Reddy 5 December 2005 11 January 2007
31 Jasti Chelameswar 3 May 2007 16 March 2010
32 Ramesh Surajmal Garg 17 April 2010 18 June 2010
33 Madan Lokur 24 June 2010 14 November 2011
34 Adarsh Kumar Goel 20 December 2011 11 October 2013
35 Abhay Manohar Sapre 19 October 2013 12 August 2014
36 Ajit Singh 5 March 2016 5 September 2018
37 Ajjikuttira Somaiah Bopanna 29 October 2018 23 May 2019
38 Ajai Lamba 7 October 2019 20 September 2020
39 Sudhanshu Dhulia 10 January 2021 8 May 2022
40 Rashmin Manharbhai Chhaya 23 June 2022 11 January 2023
41 Sandeep Mehta 15 February 2023 8 November 2023
42 Vijay Bishnoi 5 February 2024 29 May 2025
43 Ashutosh Kumar 21 July 2025 Incumbent

Judges elevated as Chief Justices

This sections contains list of only those judges elevated as chief justices whose parent high court is Gauhati. This includes those judges who, at the time of appointment as chief justice, may not be serving in Gauhati High Court but this list does not include judges who at the time of appointment as chief justice were serving in Gauhati High but does not have Gauhati as their parent High Court.[8]

Justice N. Kotiswar Singh and Subhasis Talapatra were originally appointed as judges of Gauhati High Court but opted for High courts of Manipur and Tripura respectively as their parent high courts when they were established, thus they are not included in this list.

Name Image Appointed as CJ in HC of Date of appointment Date of retirement[a] Tenure
As Judge As Chief Justice As Chief Justice As Judge[b]
Thakurdas Vasanmal Thadani Gauhati 1948 28 May 1951 21 November 1952 1 year, 178 days
Holiram Deka Gauhati 5 June 1951[9] 1 February 1961 29 June 1961 149 days 10 years, 25 days
Sarat Kumar Dutta Gauhati 25 February 1961 8 March 1968 30 January 1970 1 year, 329 days 8 years, 340 days
Parbati Kumar Goswami Gauhati 12 May 1967 31 January 1970 9 September 1973[‡] 3 years, 222 days 6 years, 121 days
Mahendra Chandra Pathak Gauhati 23 August 1967[10] 9 January 1974 30 June 1977 3 years, 173 days 9 years, 312 days
Baharul Islam Gauhati 20 January 1972 7 July 1979 1 March 1980[†][c] 239 days 8 years, 42 days
Dambarudhar Pathak Gauhati, transferred to Orissa 8 August 1973 18 April 1983 28 February 1986 2 years, 317 days 12 years, 205 days
Kiranmoy Lahiri Gauhati 19 November 1975 3 November 1986 19 December 1986 47 days 11 years, 31 days
Khagendra Nath Saikia Gauhati 12 February 1979 14 June 1987 29 February 1988[‡][d] 261 days 9 years, 18 days
Banwari Lal Hansaria Orissa 22 February 1990 13 December 1993[‡] 3 years, 295 days 14 years, 305 days
Rajkumar Manisana Singh Gauhati 21 November 1984 27 January 1994 1 February 1994 6 days 9 years, 73 days
Sailendu Nath Phukan Himachal Pradesh, transferred to Orissa 11 October 1985 1 March 1995 27 January 1999[‡] 3 years, 333 days 13 years, 109 days
Bhagwati Prasad Saraf Jammu & Kashmir 2 January 1989 21 February 2000 22 August 2001 1 year, 183 days 12 years, 233 days
Wungazan Awungshi Shishak Chhattisgarh, transferred to Himachal Pradesh 5 December 2000 31 December 2002 2 years, 27 days 13 years, 364 days
Hotoi Khetoho Sema Jammu & Kashmir 24 May 1989 12 September 2001 8 April 2002[‡] 209 days 12 years, 320 days
Sujit Barman Roy Orissa 14 November 1991 10 March 2003 21 January 2007 3 years, 325 days 15 years, 69 days
Mukundakam Sharma Delhi 10 January 1994 4 December 2006 8 April 2008[‡] 1 year, 127 days 14 years, 90 days
Aftab Hussain Saikia Sikkim, transferred to Jammu & Kashmir 15 November 2000 7 March 2009 6 April 2011 2 years, 31 days 10 years, 143 days
Ranjan Gogoi Ranjan Gogoi Punjab & Haryana 28 February 2001 12 February 2011 22 April 2012[‡] 1 year, 71 days 11 years, 55 days
Amitava Roy Rajasthan, transferred to Orissa 4 February 2002 2 January 2013 26 February 2015[‡] 2 years, 56 days 13 years, 23 days
Iqbal Ahmed Ansari Patna 4 March 2002 29 July 2016 28 October 2016 92 days 14 years, 239 days
Tinilanthang Vaiphei Tripura 17 July 2003 21 September 2016 28 February 2018 1 year, 161 days 14 years, 227 days
Hrishikesh Roy Kerala 12 October 2006 8 August 2018 21 September 2019[‡] 1 year, 45 days 12 years, 345 days
Arup Kumar Goswami Sikkim, transferred to Andhra Pradesh then to Chhattisgarh 24 January 2011 15 October 2019 10 March 2023 3 years, 147 days 12 years, 46 days
Ujjal Bhuyan Telangana 17 October 2011 28 June 2022 13 July 2023[‡] 1 year, 16 days 11 years, 270 days

Judges appointed as Acting Chief Justice

Name Appointed as ACJ in HC of Date of appointment as Judge Period as Acting Chief Justice Date of retirement[a] Tenure as ACJ Tenure as Judge Remarks Ref..
T. V. Thadani Gauhati 1948 8 Apr 1949 – 27 May 1951 21 November 1952 2 years, 50 days Became permanent [11]
Ram Labhaya Gauhati 3 January 1949 22 Nov 1952 – 9 Feb 1953 21 January 1957 80 days 8 years, 19 days -- [12]
M. C. Pathak Gauhati 23 August 1967 10 Sep 1973 – 8 Jan 1974 30 June 1977 121 days 9 years, 312 days Became permanent [13]
Baharul Islam Gauhati 20 January 1972 11 Mar 1979 – 6 Jul 1979 1 March 1980 118 days 8 years, 42 days [14]
D. Pathak Gauhati 8 August 1973 2 Mar 1980 – 17 Apr 1983 28 February 1986 3 years, 47 days 12 years, 205 days
Kiranmoy Lahiri Gauhati 19 November 1975 15 Nov 1984 – 29 Sep 1985 19 December 1986 319 days 11 years, 31 days [15]
K. N. Saikia Gauhati 12 February 1979 20 Dec 1986 – 13 Jun 1987 29 February 1988 176 days 9 years, 18 days [16]
B. L. Hansaria Gauhati 16 Mar 1988 – 5 May 1988 13 December 1993[‡] 51 days 14 years, 305 days -- [17]
Shafiqul Haque Gauhati 10 January 1984 22 Mar 1991 – 19 Aug 1991 1 March 1992 151 days 8 years, 52 days [18][19]
R. K. Manisana Singh Gauhati 21 November 1984 12 Dec 1993 – 26 Jan 1994 1 February 1994 46 days 9 years, 73 days Became permanent
S. N. Phukan Gauhati 11 October 1985 2 Feb 1994 – 23 Apr 1994 27 January 1999[‡] 81 days 13 years, 109 days -- [20]
Bhagwati Prasad Saraf Bombay 2 January 1989 14 Feb 2000 – 20 Feb 2000 22 August 2001 1 year, 183 days 12 years, 233 days Elevated as CJ of Jammu & Kashmir [21]
H. K. Sema Gauhati 24 May 1989 5 Apr 2001 – 6 Jun 2001 8 April 2002[‡] 63 days 12 years, 320 days Transferred to Jammu & Kashmir [22]
Jammu & Kashmir 23 Aug 2001 – 11 Sep 2001 20 days Became permanent
M. K. Sharma Delhi 10 January 1994 28 Nov 2006 – 3 Dec 2006 8 April 2008[‡] 6 days 14 years, 90 days [23]
Nongthomban Surajmani Singh Sikkim 29 January 1996 18 May 2003 – 8 Jul 2003 1 March 2008 52 days 12 years, 33 days -- [24]
24 Nov 2004 – 29 Sep 2005 310 days
27 Dec 2006 – 26 Jan 2007 31 days
Dinendra Biswas Gauhati 31 October 1997 27 Aug 2004 – 20 May 2005 31 August 2007 267 days 9 years, 305 days [25]
30 Sep 2005 – 4 Dec 2005 66 days
12 Jan 2007 – 2 May 2007 111 days
Ranjan Gogoi Gauhati 28 February 2001 17 Mar 2010 – 16 Apr 2010 22 April 2012[‡] 31 days 11 years, 55 days -- [26]
18 Jun 2010 – 23 Jun 2010 6 days [27]
Punjab & Haryana 4 Jan 2011 – 11 Feb 2011 39 days Became permanent
Iqbal Ahmed Ansari Patna 4 March 2002 13 Dec 2014 – 1 Jan 2015 28 October 2016 20 days 14 years, 239 days --
1 Aug 2015 – 28 Jul 2016 363 days Became permanent
T. Vaiphei Gauhati 17 July 2003 21 Oct 2015 – 4 Mar 2016 28 February 2018 136 days 14 years, 227 days --
Tripura 16 May 2016 – 20 Sep 2016 128 days Became permanent
T. Nandakumar Singh Meghalaya 25 November 2004 4 Aug 2013 – 19 Sep 2013 31 January 2016 47 days 11 years, 68 days -- [28]
13 Aug 2014 – 26 Aug 2014 14 days
15 Jan 2016 – 31 Jan 2016 17 days Retired as ACJ
Hrishikesh Roy Kerala 12 October 2006 30 May 2018 – 7 Aug 2018 21 September 2019[‡] 70 days 12 years, 345 days Became permanent
A. K. Goswami Gauhati 24 January 2011 6 Sep 2018 – 28 Oct 2018 10 March 2023 53 days 12 years, 46 days --
24 May 2019 – 6 Oct 2019 136 days
Sudip Ranjan Sen Meghalaya 6 February 2012 1 Feb 2016 – 23 Feb 2016 8 March 2019 24 days 7 years, 31 days [29]
3 Mar 2018 – 20 May 2018 79 days
L. Jamir Gauhati 22 May 2013 9 Nov 2023 – 4 Feb 2024 28 February 2026 88 days 12 years, 283 days
30 May 2025 – 20 Jul 2025 52 days Transferred to Calcutta
  1. 1 2 this includes date of resignation, death and elevation to supreme court
  2. ↑ also includes tenure as Chief Justice
  3. ↑ Elevated to Supreme Court of India on 4 December 1980 after retiring as High Court Judge on 1 March 1980
  4. ↑ Elevated to Supreme Court of India on 14 December 1988 after retiring as High Court Judge on 29 February 1988

Judges elevated to Supreme Court

This section includes the list of only those judges whose parent high court was Gauhati. This includes those judges who, at the time of elevation to Supreme Court of India, may not be serving in Gauhati High Court but this list does not include judges who at the time of elevation were serving in Gauhati High Court but does not have Gauhati as their Parent High Court.

# Name of the Judge Image Date of Appointment Date of Retirement Tenure Immediately preceding office
In Parent High Court In Supreme Court In High Court(s) In Supreme Court Total tenure[a]
1 Parbati Kumar Goswami 12 May 1967 10 September 1973 31 December 1977 6 years, 121 days 4 years, 113 days 10 years, 234 days 9th CJ of Gauhati HC
2 Baharul Islam 20 January 1972 4 December 1980[b] 12 January 1983[RES] 8 years, 41 days 2 years, 40 days 10 years, 81 days --
3 Khagendra Nath Saika 12 February 1979 14 December 1988[c] 28 February 1991 9 years, 18 days 2 years, 77 days 11 years, 95 days --
4 Banwari Lal Hansaria 14 December 1993 24 December 1996 14 years, 305 days 3 years, 11 days 17 years, 317 days 13th CJ of Orissa HC
5 Sailendu Nath Phukan 11 October 1985 28 January 1999 31 March 2002 13 years, 109 days 3 years, 63 days 16 years, 172 days 16th CJ of Orissa HC
6 Hotoi Khetoho Sema 24 May 1989 9 April 2002 1 June 2008 12 years, 320 days 6 years, 54 days 19 years, 9 days 21st CJ of Jammu & Kashmir HC
7 Mukundakam Sharma 10 January 1994 9 April 2008 17 September 2011 14 years, 90 days 3 years, 162 days 17 years, 251 days 24th CJ of Delhi HC
8 Ranjan Gogoi Ranjan Gogoi 28 February 2001 23 April 2012 17 November 2019 11 years, 55 days 7 years, 209 days 18 years, 263 days 30th CJ of Punjab & Haryana HC
9 Amitava Roy 4 February 2002 27 February 2015 1 March 2018 13 years, 23 days 3 years, 3 days 16 years, 26 days 27tht CJ of Orissa HC
10 Hrishikesh Roy 12 October 2006 23 September 2019 31 January 2025 12 years, 346 days 5 years, 251 days 18 years, 112 days 35th CJ of Kerala HC
11 Ujjal Bhuyan 17 October 2011 14 July 2023 Incumbent 11 years, 270 days 3 years, 44 days 14 years, 314 days 5th CJ of Telangana HC
  1. ↑ Includes both tenure as High Court Judge as well as Supreme Court Judge
  2. ↑ Retired as High Court Judge on 1 March 1980 before being elevated to Supreme Court of India
  3. ↑ Retired as High Court Judge on 29 February 1988 before being elevated to Supreme Court of India

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Gauhati High Court – High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh". Ghconline.gov.in. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
  2. ↑ "Gauhati High Court, Kohima Bench". e-Committee, Supreme Court of India. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  3. ↑ "Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench". Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 3 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Gauhati High Court, Itanagar Bench". e-Committee, Supreme Court of India. Retrieved 22 August 2026.
  5. ↑ "Gauhati High Court, Aizawl Bench". e-Committee, Supreme Court of India. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  6. ↑ "Gauhati High Court, Aizawl Bench".
  7. ↑ "Gauhati High Court - Judges". www.ghconline.gov.in. Retrieved 4 February 2019.
  8. ↑ "Hon'ble Chief Justices and Judges of the Gauhati High Court Appointed/ Transferred as Chief Justices of Other High Courts – THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT". ghconline.gov.in. Archived from the original on 17 May 2025. Retrieved 3 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Appointment of H. Deka as Chief Justice".
  10. ↑ "Appointment of M. C. Pathak as Chief Justice".
  11. ↑ "Appointment of T. V. Thadani as Chief Justice" (PDF).
  12. ↑ "Gauhati High Court : Former Judges".
  13. ↑ "Appointment of M. C. Pathak as Chief Justice".
  14. ↑ "Justice Baharul Islam | Supreme Court of India | India". www.sci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  15. ↑ "Appointment of Chief Justice in Gauhati".
  16. ↑ "Justice K.N. Saikia | Supreme Court of India | India". www.sci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  17. ↑ "Judgement mentioning Justice Hansaria as ACJ during this period".
  18. ↑ "Gauhati High Court : Former Judges".
  19. ↑ Court, India Supreme (1988). Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as on ... Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, Department of Justice, Government of India.
  20. ↑ "Judgement mentioning S. N. Phukan as ACJ during this period".
  21. ↑ "Full court reference for B. P. Saraf" (PDF).
  22. ↑ "Profile : H. K. Sema".
  23. ↑ "Justice Mukundakam Sharma | Supreme Court of India | India". www.sci.gov.in. Archived from the original on 28 January 2024. Retrieved 30 September 2025.
  24. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr. Justice Nongthomban Surjamani Singh | High Court of Sikkim". hcs.gov.in. Archived from the original on 8 December 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2025.
  25. ↑ "Gauhati High Court : Former Judges".
  26. ↑ "GHC : Doc" (PDF).
  27. ↑ "Appointment of Ranjan Gogoi as ACJ" (PDF).
  28. ↑ "Chairperson – MANIPUR LOKAYUKTA". manipurlokayukta.mn.gov.in. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
  29. ↑ Sucheta (20 February 2016). "Appointments and Transfers in various High Courts". SCC Times. Retrieved 12 October 2025.
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