Sudhi Ranjan Das (1 October 1894 – 18 September 1977) was the 5th

Chief Justice of India The chief justice of India (IAST: ) is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of India as well as the highest-ranking officer of the Indian Judiciary. The Constitution of India grants power to the president of India to appoint, in consultation w ...

, serving from 1 February 1956 to 30 September 1959. Das also served as chairman of ''

The Statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

''.Biography on Supreme Court of India's NIC webpage
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Background and education

S.R. Das was born in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

into the prominent

Baidya Baidya or Vaidya is a Hindu community located in Bengal. Baidyas, a caste (''jāti'') of Ayurvedic physicians, have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the colonial era, the Bhadraloks were drawn primarily, b ...

Das family Das (translation: "devotes of God" is a common last name in South Asia, among adherents of Hinduism and Sikhism, as well as those who converted to Islam or Christianity. It is a derived from the Sanskrit word Dasa (Sanskrit: दास) meaning s ...

(originally Dasgupta) of Telirbagh. He was born to Rakhal Chandra Das and Binodini Das. He attended

Patha Bhavana Patha Bhavana is an institution of primary and secondary education in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India. Founded by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1901, starting with only five students, the school is characterized by its philosophy of lea ...

Santiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

, where he was one of the first four pupils of

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. After finishing his intermediate examinations at the

Scottish Church College Scottish Church College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies and is the oldest continuously running Christian liberal arts and sciences college in A ...

, he moved on to the Bangabasi College which was affiliated to the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

from which he graduated. He later studied law at

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

and was awarded first-class honours LL.B. from

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

in 1918. He was called to the Bar in 1918 at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

, London.Sen, Asit. ''Glimpses of College History: The Students and the Teachers'' in ''175th Year Commemoration Volume''. Scottish Church College, April 2008. page 234

Judicial career

He was elevated to the Bench as an Additional Judge of Calcutta High Court in 1942. He became a Puisne Judge, Calcutta High Court in 1944. He served as the Chief Justice of Punjab High Court from 1949 to 1950. He was appointed to the Federal Court/Supreme Court of India in 1950 days before the commencement of the new Constitution. He officiated twice as Acting Chief Justice of India before holding the highest Judicial office of the country- Chief Justice of India for over three years. He retired on 30 September 1959.

Family life

Sudhi Ranjan Das was married to the former Swapna Majumdar, the daughter of S.B. Majumdar, an ICS officer. By his wife, he had two sons, Group Captain Suranjan Das and Suhrid Ranjan Das, and a daughter, Anjana. His daughter married his junior counsel

Ashoke Sen Ashoke Sen FRS (; born 1956) is an Indian theoretical physicist and distinguished professor at the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad. He is also an honorary fellow in National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhu ...

, who later became Union Law Minister. His children were all named by Rabindranath Tagore. Deshbandhu

Chittaranjan Das Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called ''Deshbandhu'' (Friend of the Nation), was an Indian freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian independence movement and founder-leader of the Swar ...

Sarala Roy Sarala Roy (1861-1946) was an Indian educator, feminist, and social activist. She was one of the first women to matriculate from Calcutta University, and was the first woman to be a member of the University Senate. She founded a school for girls an ...

, Abhla Bose and

Satish Ranjan Das Satish Ranjan Das (1870–1928) was the Advocate-General of Bengal and later the Law Member of the Executive Council of the Viceroy; he was sometime treasurer of the Boy Scouts of Bengal and the Lodge of Good Fellowship, and a prominent memb ...

are his cousins.

1, Safdurjung Road

The bungalow at 1, Safdurjung Road used by then Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

as her residence was priorly inhabited by Chief Justice S.R. Das. This bungalow witnessed the assassination of the PM Mrs. Indira Gandhi in 1984. It is now a museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Das, Sudhi Ranjan 1894 births 1977 deaths Bengali Hindus Brahmos Das family of Telirbagh Judges of the Calcutta High Court 20th-century Indian judges Chief justices of India Alumni of the University of London Alumni of University College London Scottish Church College alumni Bangabasi College alumni University of Calcutta alumni Visva-Bharati University alumni People associated with Santiniketan 20th-century Indian lawyers