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{{Short description|Indian judge (1881–1970)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = Sir
| office = Chief Justice of the [[Federal Court of India]]
| term_label = Acting
| governor-general = [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|The Marquess of Linlithgow]]
| term_start = 25 April 1943
| term_end = 7 June 1943
| predecessor = [[Sir Maurice Gwyer]]
| successor = [[Patrick Spens, 1st Baron Spens|Sir Patrick Spens]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1881|06|20|df=yes}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|1970|09|06|1881|06|20|df=yes}}
}}

'''Sir Srinivas Varadachariar''' (20 June 1881{{Spaced en dash}}6 September 1970) was an Indian jurist who was the first Indian [[chief justice]] of the [[Federal Court of India]] when he served as the acting chief justice of the court between 25 April 1943 and 7 June 1943. He was also a judge of the [[Madras High Court]] and of the [[Federal Court of India]]. Varadachariar headed the ad-hoc committee of the [[Constituent Assembly of India]], which drafted the provisions to set up the [[Supreme Court of India]].

== Biography ==

Varadachariar was born on 20 June 1881 into a family of [[Iyengar]] priests, with limited financial means. His father was the priest to the house of lawyer and jurist Sir [[V. Bhashyam Aiyangar]], the first Indian [[Advocate-General of Madras]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" /> Varadachariar started as an apprentice under Aiyangar and later under [[P. S. Sivaswami Iyer]]. He was admitted into the bar in 1905 and rose to become the judge of the [[Madras High Court]] in 1934.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Madras Musings - We care for Madras that is Chennai |url=https://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2022%20No%2020/on-the-trail-of-judges-and-lawyers.html |access-date=17 November 2022 |website=madrasmusings.com |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117030406/https://madrasmusings.com/Vol%2022%20No%2020/on-the-trail-of-judges-and-lawyers.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2" />

Varadachariar was knighted and appointed as a judge of the [[Federal Court of India]], the forerunner to the [[Supreme Court of India]], in 1939.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Hindu Images - S. Varadachariar |url=https://thehinduimages.com/details-page.php?id=1917824590&ST=RU&SI=7 |access-date=16 November 2022 |website=[[The Hindu]] Images}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Supreme Court of India |url=http://archive.org/details/courtsofindiapas00supr |title=Courts of India Past To Present |date=2016 |publisher=Publications Division, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Govt. of India |others=Public Resource}}</ref> He was appointed by the then [[Governor-General of India]], [[Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow|Victor Hope]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wc |first=Andew |date=6 November 2022 |title=List Of Chief Justice Of India (2022 Updated) |url=https://www.gkgigs.com/chief-justice-of-india/ |access-date=17 November 2022 |website=GkGigs |language=en-us |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117030925/https://www.gkgigs.com/chief-justice-of-india/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Varadachariar succeeded [[M. R. Jayakar]] who stepped down as a judge when he was appointed to the [[Judicial Committee of the Privy Council]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=14 February 1939 |title=Federal Court of India |work=[[The Times]] (London, England) |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=TTDA&u=wikipedia&id=GALE%7CCS220148814&v=2.1&it=r&sid=ebsco |access-date=16 November 2022 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111234907/https://galeapps.gale.com/apps/auth?userGroupName=wikipedia&sid=ebsco&origURL=https%3A%2F%2Fgo.gale.com%2Fps%2Fi.do%3Fp%3DTTDA%26u%3Dwikipedia%26id%3DGALE%257CCS220148814%26v%3D2.1%26it%3Dr%26sid%3Debsco&prodId=TTDA |url-status=live }}</ref> At the time, the Federal Court of India had three judges, a British judge, and two Indian judges with one Hindu and one Muslim judge.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gadbois |first=George H. |title=The Federal Court of India: 1937-1950 |date=1964 |journal=Journal of the Indian Law Institute |volume=6 |issue=2/3 |pages=253–315 |jstor=43949806 |issn=0019-5731}}</ref> Varadachariar served as the acting [[chief justice]] of the Federal Court of India between 25 April 1943 and 7 June 1943, when the first chief justice of the court Sir [[Maurice Linford Gwyer]] stepped down. In serving as the acting chief justice, he was the first Indian chief justice of the Federal Court of India.<ref name=":2"/><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Court Express: Chief Justice of India swearing in videos |url=https://courtexpress.in/Videos/Swearing-in%20CJI.html |access-date=17 November 2022 |website=courtexpress.in |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117022506/https://courtexpress.in/Videos/Swearing-in%20CJI.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Amongst the significant cases presided by Varadachariar as the Chief Justice included ''King Emperor v Beonarilal Sharma'', a case that is noted to have cost him his position as the permanent chief justice of the court.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dhavan |first=Rajeev |date=August 1972 |title=Juristic Techniques in the Supreme Court of India (1950 - 1971) |url=https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/33977/1/11015721.pdf |access-date=17 November 2022 |archive-date=17 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221117035126/https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/33977/1/11015721.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Despite being the senior most judge in the court, he was succeeded by British judge [[William Patrick Spens]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chandrachud |first=Abhinav |title=The Informal Constitution |date=1 April 2014 |chapter=Historical Background |pages=21–70 |chapter-url=https://academic.oup.com/book/25979/chapter/193798649 |language=en |doi=10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198098560.003.0001 |isbn=978-0-19-809856-0 |access-date=17 November 2022 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111234908/https://academic.oup.com/book/25979/chapter-abstract/193798649?redirectedFrom=fulltext |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-11-04 |title=Thakur set to be CJI in December - Seniority norm followed, no surprises |url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f6h&AN=110802281&site=eds-live |url-access=subscription |access-date=2023-07-09 |website=[[The Telegraph (India)|The Telegraph]] |page=1 |publication-place=Calcutta, India |via=[[EBSCOHost]]}}</ref> As a judge, Varadachariar retired from the Federal Court of India in 1946 after serving for seven years.<ref name=":2" />

Varadachariar was also the chairman of the Government of India's [[Pay Commission|First Central Pay Commission]] in 1946. The commission's recommendations were accepted by the government in May 1947.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rao |first=V. Bhaskara |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d8Ydxc66NrIC&dq=Srinivas+Varadachariar&pg=PA274 |title=Public Administration, Steel Or Plastic Frame |date=2008 |publisher=Gyan Publishing House |isbn=978-81-7835-617-4 |language=en |access-date=30 November 2022 |archive-date=7 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207120115/https://books.google.com/books?id=d8Ydxc66NrIC&dq=Srinivas+Varadachariar&pg=PA274 |url-status=live }}</ref> He was also the chairman of the Income Tax Investigation Commission set up under the Taxation of Income Act.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mathew |first=Sibichen K. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KW2SAAAAQBAJ&dq=Srinivas+Varadachariar&pg=PT184 |title=Making People Pay: The Economic Sociology of Taxation |date=14 August 2013 |publisher=Partridge Publishing |isbn=978-1-4828-0148-4 |language=en |access-date=30 November 2022 |archive-date=7 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221207120111/https://books.google.com/books?id=KW2SAAAAQBAJ&dq=Srinivas+Varadachariar&pg=PT184 |url-status=live }}</ref> Varadachariar headed the ad-hoc committee of the [[Constituent Assembly of India]], which drafted the provisions to set up the Supreme Court of India.<ref name=":2" />

He later served as the president of the board of the Lady Sivaswami Iyer Girls' School in Madras.<ref name=":1" /> In addition to legal learnings, Varadachariar was a scholar of Sanskrit.<ref name=":2" />

== Published works ==

* {{Cite book |last=Varadachariar |first=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dlOPGAAACAAJ |title=The Hindu Judicial System |date=1946 |publisher=Lucknow University |language=en}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Varadachariar, Srinivas}}
[[Category:1881 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian knights]]
[[Category:Indian Knights Bachelor]]
[[Category:Indian lawyers]]
[[Category:Indian judges]]
[[Category:Judges of the Madras High Court]]
[[Category:Lawyers from British India]]

Srinivas Varadachariar - Revision history

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