All rise!

The position of the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court has been in a little bit of a flux over the past few days. Mr. Justice AP Shah was tranferred as the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court and he assumed charge there on May 12; Mr. Justice S.J. Mukhopadhaya was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on May 9. And then, on May 12, the President of India upon advice from the Chief Justice of India (a former CJ of the Madras High Court), transferred the CJ of the Orissa High Court to Chennai. Mr. Justice AK Ganguly is expected to assume charge today, as the 40th Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

This picture of the Madras High Court complex was taken from the top of another fairly historic building - Dare House, the headquarters of the Murugappa Group. More about this group and its constituents later; for now, we stay with the (surprisingly) sylvan environs of the seat of justice in Chennai.

The High Court of Judicature at Madras was one of the three presidency High Courts in India established during the reign of Queen Victoria. Formally brought into existence on June 26, 1862, it is certainly one of the older landmarks of Chennai that was Madras. Wikipedia says it is the second largest judicial complex in the world - I don't know about that, but it is large enough for anyone so inclined to spend many days just admiring the buildings and the courtrooms. Not to mention become completely transfixed by the variety of proceedings that go on within it!