The Sheriff of Kolkata is an apolitical titular position of authority bestowed for one year on a prominent citizen of Kolkata (Calcutta). The Sheriff has an office and staff in Calcutta High Court but does not have executive powers. Mumbai (Bombay) and Kolkata (Calcutta) are the only cities in India to maintain the post of the Sheriff. Presently the office of the sheriff is situated in the Calcutta High Court building.
History
The Calcutta Madness was established by a Royal Charter issued by King George III of Great Britain on 26 March 1774 which created the Supreme Court at Fort William in Calcutta. The charter stipulated that the sheriff would be appointed by the Governor-General in Council from a list of three residents recommended by the Supreme Court in a similar manner to the system of High Sheriffs in England.
In the early years the sheriff of Calcutta was the executive arm of the judiciary and responsible for the provision of jurors, the safe custody of prisoners and the seizure of goods. From the mid 1800s, the power of the position was gradually reduced until it became today's ceremonial post.
The Calcutta Sheriff's Act 1948 (or West Bengal Act XXX of 1948) was enacted on 15 October 1948.
Notable persons
List of sheriffs:
- 1775: James Macrabey, first sheriff
- 1778: John Richardson
- 1779: Sir John Hadley D'Oyly, Bt
- 1840: David Hare
- 1846: James McKilligin
- 1866: Seth Arratoon Apcar, first non-European Sheriff
- 1873: Manekji Rustamji, the first Indian Sheriff
- 1874: Raja Digambar Mitra, politician, writer and first Bengali Sheriff
- 1886: George Yule, merchant
- 1888: Mahendralal Sarkar, doctor and academic
- 1892: James Mackay, 1st Earl of Inchcape
- 1893: Rustamjee Dhanjibhai Mehta
- 1901: Sir George Henry Sutherland
- 1904: Nalin Behari Sircar
- 1905: Baron Cable, British merchant
- 1908: Sir George Henry Sutherland (2nd term)
- 1911: Rajendra Nath Mukharji, industrialist
- 1920: Alfred Pickford, merchant
- 1935: Abdul Halim Khan Ghuznavi
- 1936: Sir Charles Gordon Arthur
- 1950: Dr Shanti Bhusan Dutt Gupta
- 1955: Dr Amulya Chandra Ukil, physician
- 1957, 1958: Shri Suresh Chandra Roy
- 1968: Ramesh Chandra Majumdar, historian
- 1987: KSB Sanyal, business leader (Chairman of Andrew Yule)
- 1989: Dr Saroj Gupta, oncologist
- 1991: Dr. K.K.H. Siddiqui, cardiologist
- 1992: Dr. Sanat Kumar Biswas, scientist
- 1994: Basanta Choudhury, film actor
- 1998: Dr I. S. Roy, Ophthalmologist
- 1999: Dr Surendra Kumar Sharma, radiologist
- 2000: Pankaj Lal Roy, cricketer
- 2001: Smt. Suchitra Mitra, the first woman Sheriff
- 2002: Sunil Gangopadhyay, Bengali poet
- 2003: Prabir Roy, film producer
- 2004: Dr Sadhan Chandra Ray
- 2005: Chuni Goswami, sportsman
- 2006: Prof. Amal Chakraborty, pediatrician
- 2007: Rathindra Nath Dutta
- 2008: Dr Dulal Kumar Basu
- 2009: Santo Jyoti Mittra
- 2010: Utpal Chatterjee, journalist, professor of IISWBM
- 2011: Indrajit Roy, neurosurgeon
- 2012: Vacant
- 2013: Dr. Swapankumar Ghosh, physician
- 2014: Ranjit Mallick, actor
- 2015: Vacant
- 2017: Dr. Sanjay Chattopadhyay, physician
- 2019: Mani Shankar Mukherjee, writer
See also
References
- "Journalist Utpal Chatterjee is new Sheriff of Kolkata". 11 January 2010. Archived from the original on 29 August 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2017.
- "The High Court at Calcutta" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- "Calcutta Sheriff's Act, 148" (PDF). www.wbja.nic.in. Archived (PDF) from the original on 23 January 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
- "Sheriff". Sheriff. Archived from the original on 26 November 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2020.
- "Suchitra Mitra elected Sheriff". The Tribune. India. 8 February 2001. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
- "চুনী গোস্বামী: বর্ণোজ্জ্বল জীবন ও কেরিয়ার" [Chuni Goswami: Colorful Life and Career]. bangla.hindustantimes.com (in Bengali). Kolkata: Hindustan Times. 30 April 2020. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
- "The Telegraph – Calcutta Metro". Archived from the original on 25 August 2006.
- "Journalist to be new sheriff | Kolkata News - Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. 24 December 2009. Archived from the original on 26 April 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.
- "Neurosurgeon Indrajit Roy will be new sheriff of Kolkata". sify news. Archived from the original on 13 November 2017. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- "Ranjit the sheriff". The Telegrapn. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- "Eminent author Shankar becomes Sheriff of Kolkata". Business Standard India. PTI. 8 July 2019. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.
