Madras High Court

The Madras High Court is an Indian High Court with appellate jurisdiction over the state of Tamil Nadu and the union territory of Puducherry, and with original jurisdiction over the city of Chennai. It sits in Chennai and has an additional bench at Madurai, which was established on 24 July 2004. It was one of the three charter High Courts created by Letters Patent granted by the British Crown on 26 June 1862, replacing the Supreme Court of Madras, which had exercised jurisdiction over the city since 1817. Its main court complex in Chennai was formally inaugurated on 12 July 1892, and the court has a sanctioned strength of 75 judges including the Chief Justice. After independence it was recognised as an appellate authority under the Constitution of India, which took effect on 26 January 1950. The court kept its older name even after the city was renamed Chennai in 1996.