Indira Banerjee (born 24 September 1957) is a former judge of the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
and the eighth female judge in history of Supreme Court. Previously, she served as chief justice of the
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...
, the second woman to hold the position in India.
Early life
Indira Banerjee was born on 24 September 1957. She started her education at the
Loreto House
Loreto House was established in 1842 in Kolkata, by the Sisters of Loreto belonging to the institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is the oldest and the first Loreto institution to be established in India and was one of the few all-girls Catho ...
in
Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
. She pursued higher education at the
Presidency University, Kolkata
Presidency University, Kolkata (formerly known as Presidency College, Kolkata) is a second major public state aided research university located in College Street, Kolkata. Considered as one of best colleges when Presidency College was affili ...
and the
Department of Law, University of Calcutta
The Department of Law, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, formerly University College of Law, is a faculty in the University of Calcutta, founded in 1909, colloquially referred to as Hazra Law College, which offers undergraduate, pos ...
.
She was enrolled as an advocate on 5 July 1985 and practised before the
Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court buildi ...
.
Judicial career
Banerjee was appointed a permanent judge of the
Calcutta High Court
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in India. It is located in B.B.D. Bagh, Kolkata, West Bengal. It has jurisdiction over the state of West Bengal and the Union Territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The High Court buildi ...
on 5 February 2002 and transferred to the
Delhi High Court
The High Court of Delhi (IAST: ''dillī uchcha nyāyālaya'') was established on 31 October 1966, through the ''Delhi High Court Act, 1966'', with four judges, Chief Justice K. S. Hegde, Justice I. D. Dua, Justice H. R. Khanna and Justice S. ...
with effect from 8 August 2016. She was elevated as the chief justice of the
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...
and assumed charge on 5 April 2017.
Banerjee succeeded Justice
Sanjay Kishan Kaul
Sanjay Kishan Kaul is currently the Most senior judge of Supreme Court of India. He is former chief justice of Madras High Court and Punjab and Haryana High Court and former judge of Delhi High Court. He has also served as acting chief justi ...
as the chief justice of the
Madras High Court
The Madras High Court is a High Court in India. It has appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry. It is located in Chennai, and is the third oldest high court of India after the Calcutta High C ...
, after she was elevated to the
Supreme Court of India
The Supreme Court of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme judicial authority of India and is the highest court of the Republic of India under the constitution. It is the most senior constitutional court, has the final decision in all legal matters ...
. She is the second woman to head the
charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...
ed
High Court, after Justice Kanta Kumari Bhatnagar who headed the court between June and November 1992.
She was elevated as a judge of Supreme Court of India on 7 August 2018. She was retired on 23 September 2022.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banerjee, Indira
1957 births
Living people
20th-century Indian lawyers
20th-century Indian women lawyers
21st-century Indian judges
21st-century Indian women judges
Chief Justices of the Madras High Court
Judges of the Calcutta High Court
Judges of the Delhi High Court
Justices of the Supreme Court of India
Lawyers from Kolkata
University of Calcutta alumni