Through Chennai’s majestic halls of justice

It’s not just the grandeur of the Madras High Court that strikes you, but also its two-century-old history of jurisprudence

On June 26, 1862, Queen Victoria passed an order which established “for the Presidency of Madras... a High Court of Judicature at Madras... to consist of a Chief Justice and five Judges..”. The High Court was given a seal and asked to officiate in the name of the Crown. It formally opened on Friday, August 15, 1862. The court functioned from Bentick Building on First Line Beach, but that has been demolished and rebuilt.

The present building, designed by architect Henry Irwin and constructed by Namperumal Chetty, was declared open by Governor Beilby Baron Wenlock on July 12, 1892. After handing over the key to the Chief Justice Sir Arthur Collins, the Governor said work on the 13-lakh-rupee building had started in 1888; its style was “Hindu-Saracenic, freely treated according to local requirements.” Except on two occasions – bombing by Emden in 1914 when it was shifted to Coimbatore Forest College, and World War-II when the judges sat in Holy Angels College, this court has heard cases continuously for two centuries.

What a beauty she is! From a distance she presents a breathtaking view of red brickwork and granite, multi-coloured plaster-work, minarets, brick mini-towers, and small Islamic domes. The main lighthouse dome which rises majestically once threw beams lit by kerosene. Another lighthouse on the campus, built in 1838, pre-dates the High Court building.

I joined a heritage walk which the High Court Heritage Committee organises on the second Sunday of every month. Architect Tara Murali took us through the structure's highlights, pointing out the layered arches and the colonnaded verandahs that cut off direct sunlight to the rooms and allowed for decoration on the openings. The domes, arches, balconies, minarets and halls — no area lies undecorated. Birds, animals and plants crowd the panels above the arches, pillars supporting the staircases. And the staircases! There are flamboyant ones with handrails, a spiral one that once brought prisoners straight up to a court hall, a cast-iron staircase inside the lighthouse, and concealed circular brick staircases for maintenance. The naturally-lit Justice Rajamannar Hall and the grand court halls sport beautiful tiles on the floor and the dado.

The octagonal lobby has intricate plastering on its circular dome. The aesthetic elegance of Sir Muthusamy Iyer’s statue by George Wade leaves you spellbound.

Matching its grandeur brick-to-brick is the court's history of jurisprudence. In his monumental workThe Madras High Court: A 150-year Journey from Crown Court to People's Court, advocate N. L. Rajah takes a comprehensive look at the High Court's history – its origins, contribution of its members in forming legal systems and processes, the unforgettable cases and judgments that have echoed off its high walls, the vignettes of wit and witticisms of Madras lawyers who left an indelible mark on its pages.

“Madras advocates were multi-talented,” said Rajah. “They could handle civil and criminal cases with equal felicity, rival judges from the English Bar in any point of common law.”

And their talents were not confined to establishing fair judicial practices. If C.P. Ramaswami Iyer pushed through Mettur and Pykara systems and Satyamurthi the Poondi project, Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar kept his theatre audiences in splits. Rangavadivelu and V.V. Srinivasa Iyergar wrote plays, V.C. Gopalaratnam was a dramatist and actor.

E Krishna Iyer is credited with reviving Bharatanatyam, T.V. Subba Rao and T.L. Venkatrama Iyer with bringing Carnatic music back to its glory; and T.M. Krishnaswami Iyer came to be known as “Thiruppugazhmani”.

There is no field of life the legal luminaries did not touch with their rich intellect – L. Krishnadoss drew the famous life-like portrait of Gandhi, numismatist/archaeologist T.G. Aravamudan was curator of the Madras Museum, Justice P.V. Rajamannar was Chairman of Sangeet Natak Academy, P. N. Appuswami wrote science books in Tamil for children. V. Krishnaswami Iyer started the Sanskrit College, Venkataramana Ayurvedic Dispensary and Medical School. V.C. Seshachariar rendered the primary Vedas in English. SPCA, Children's Aid Society, Home Guards, Consumer Action Group, family planning – all received their support. P.S. Sivaswami Iyer parted with almost his entire wealth for women’s education; Paul Appaswamy and M. Venkatasubba Rao supported school education; V. C. Desikachari founded the Madras First Central Urban Co-operative Bank; S. Varadachariar gifted a fortune to two high-school playgrounds; V.L. Ethiraj, Basheer Ahmed Syed and Subbaroya Iyer made college education their cause.

“The High Court was an attempt by the British to make a political statement through a public building,” said Rajah. Still, “in architectural finish and workmanship, the court has no parallel.

We do not have a Rashtrapathi Bhavan or Victoria Memorial, but we do have our magnificent High Court. Let us do all we can to preserve its glory.”

Geetha Padmanabhan H 10 Sep 14