Karnataka High Court

High Court of Karnataka Karnāṭaka Ućća Nyāyālaya
Emblem of the court
Established	1884 (1884)
Jurisdiction	Karnataka
Location	Principal bench Bengaluru Additional benches Dharwad Kalaburagi
Coordinates	12.9779°N 77.5926°E / 12.9779; 77.5926
Composition method	Presidential appointment on advice of the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of Karnataka.
Authorized by	Constitution of India
Judge term length	Mandatory retirement at age 62
Number of positions	62
Language	Kannada, English
Website	https://judiciary.karnataka.gov.in
Chief Justice
Currently	Vibhu Bakhru
Since	19 July 2025

The High Court of Karnataka (IAST: Karnāṭaka Ućća Nyāyālaya, commonly referred to as the Karnataka High Court and formerly known as the Mysore High Court, is the highest judicial authority of the Indian state of Karnataka. The court's principal bench is located in Bengaluru, the capital city of Karnataka, with additional benches in Hubballi-Dharwad and Kalaburagi. In Bengaluru, the High Court operates from a red-painted brick building known as the Attara Kacheri, located opposite the Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the Karnataka Legislature.

Composition

The High Court is composed of the Chief Justice of Karnataka and other judges, who are appointed by the President of India. As of February 2022, there are 45 judges in the High Court, against a sanctioned maximum strength of 62. Valluri Kameswar Rao has been the Acting Chief Justice since 30 May 2025.

Powers and jurisdiction

The High Court is the highest judicial authority within the State of Karnataka. It has superintendence over all courts and tribunals, such as district courts, operating within Karnataka, except those of the armed forces. Appeals against judgments of lower courts, such as district-level civil and sessions courts, are heard in the High Court. Appeals against judgments of the High Court are heard by the Supreme Court of India.

The High Court is a court of record and has the authority to prosecute for contempt of itself.

The Karnataka High Court has permanent benches at Hubballi-Dharwada (operational on 24 August 2013) and Kalaburagi (operational on 31 August 2013). Prior to the establishment of permanent benches, Hubballi-Dharwada and Kalaburagi had circuit benches of Karnataka High Court starting in 2008. The Hubballi-Dharwada bench was inaugurated by then Chief Justice of India K.G. Balakrishnan on 4 July 2008 and became operational on 7 July 2008.

Premises

Main article: Attara Kacheri

Rear facade of Attara Kacheri, the Bengaluru seat of the Court's principal bench (in Neoclassical architecture style)

Attara Kacheri, the Bengaluru seat of the Court's principal bench

The High Court's principal bench is located in Bengaluru, in a building called the Attara Kacheri. It is a two-storey building made of stone and brick, painted red, in the neoclassical style. The building was constructed between 1864 and 1868 and is located in Bengaluru's Cubbon Park.

Karnataka High Court Plaque

In 1982, it was proposed to demolish this building. A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the High Court to prevent demolition. This was the first PIL ever filed in the court, and the case was heard in the same building that was supposed to be demolished. The petition was dismissed by the High Court, but in 1985 the proposal to demolish the building was dropped after the Supreme Court directed the state government to reconsider demolition.

Heritage

Lord Cubbon, the then Viceroy of Colonial India was responsible for building Attara Kacheri. The building features Greco-Roman styled architecture with red paint and a sprawling expansive layout, marked by a distinguished central structure. A portion of the High Court building served as Attara Kacheri, during the Mysore Kingdom era, housing various public offices.

The entrance of the Attara Kacheri building now faces the side opposite to the Vidhana Soudha, which was originally the rear side of the former Attara Kacheri. Over a hundred years later, when the building became the High Court, it began to show signs of age and wear. This led to the proposal for its demolition during the tenure of Kengal Hanumanthaiah and again in 1984, when there was a plan to replace it with a new structure. These proposals faced significant protests from citizens who opposed dismantling the colonial-era building.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed, but the High Court dismissed the petition. The case was subsequently taken to the Supreme Court. In consideration of the public concerns, the government decided not to demolish the building but instead to renovate and expand it to meet modern needs. The government of Karnataka assigned the task to the engineers of the Public Works Department (PWD). Preparations began in 1986 to renovate the old structure and add a new parallel block, designed in the same style as the original Attara Kacheri.

In 1990s, the Karnataka Government successfully rejuvenated the Attara Kacheri building, adding new blocks alongside the existing structure. The old building was reinforced to accommodate the updated requirements. The Northern Block was formally Inaugurated by Lokayuktha Venkatachala, with a plaque installed during the event.

Chief Justice and Judges

The current sitting judges of the court are as follows:

See also: List of sitting judges of the high courts of India § Karnataka High Court

Former Chief Justices

P. Mahadevayya, M. Sadasivayya, Nittoor Srinivasa Rau, Sam Piroj Bharucha and G. T. Nanavati were among the notable Chief Justices who presided over this court.

List of former Chief Justices

High Court of Mysore

N	Chief Justice	Term
1	Charles George Plumer	1884 – July 1890
2	Sir T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty	July 1890 – 4 November 1895
3	James William Best	4 November 1895 – 1907
4	Stanley Ismay	1908–1912
5	P. Mahadevayya	1931–1934
6	Justice Palecanda Belliappa Medapa	1948 -1955

High Court of Karnataka

#	Chief Justice	Term
1	R. Venkataramaiah	1 November 1956 – 16 July 1957
2	S. R. Das Gupta	25 July 1957 – 13 August 1961
3	Nittoor Srinivasa Rau	29 March 1962 – 7 August 1963
4	A. R. Somanath Iyer	23 November 1969 – 29 December 1969
5	M. Sadasivayya	30 December 1969 – 16 September 1970
6	A. Narayana Pai	17 September 1970 – 6 June 1973
7	G. K. Govinda Bhat	7 June 1973 – 14 December 1977
8	D. M. Chandrashekar	22 March 1978 – 25 September 1982
9	K. Bhimaiah	28 October 1982 – 10 April 1983
10	V. S. Malimath	6 February 1984 – 24 October 1985
11	Prem Chand Jain	28 August 1986 – 16 September 1989
12	S. Mohan	26 October 1989 – 7 October 1991
13	S. P. Bharucha	1 January 1991 – 30 June 1992
14	S. B. Majumdar	2 July 1993 – 13 September 1994
15	G. T. Nanavati	28 September 1994 – 4 March 1995
16	M. L. Pendse	28 July 1995 – 25 March 1996
17	S. A. Hakeem	3 May 1996 – 9 May 1996
18	R. P. Sethi	29 June 1996 – 6 January 1999
19	Y. Bhaskar Rao	9 March 1999 – 26 June 2000
20	P. V. Reddi	21 October 2000 – 16 August 2001
21	Nagendra Kumar Jain	31 August 2001 – 20 October 2004
22	Nauvdip Kumar Sodhi	19 November 2004 – 29 November 2005
23	Cyriac Joseph	7 January 2006 – 6 July 2008
24	P. D. Dinakaran	8 August 2008 – 7 August 2010
25	Jagdish Singh Khehar	8 August 2010 – 12 September 2011
26	Vikramajit Sen	24 December 2011 – 24 December 2012
27	Dhirendra Hiralal Waghela	7 March 2013 – 1 June 2015
28	Subhro Kamal Mukherjee	23 February 2016– 9 October 2017
29	Dinesh Maheshwari	12 February 2018 – 17 January 2019
30	Abhay Shreeniwas Oka	10 May 2019 – 30 August 2021
31	Ritu Raj Awasthi	11 October 2021 – 2 July 2022
32	Prasanna B. Varale	15 October 2022 – 24 January 2024
33	P. S. Dinesh Kumar	3 February 2024 – 24 February 2024
34	Nilay Vipinchandra Anjaria	25 February 2024 – 29 May 2025
35	Vibhu Bakhru	19 July 2025 – Incumbent

Judges elevated to Supreme Court

Currently serving

#	Name of the Judge	Image	Date of Appointment as Judge	Date of elevation to Supreme Court	Date of Retirement	Tenure			Immediately preceding office
						As HC Judge	As Supreme Court Judge	Total tenure (including both SC and HC)
1	Bengaluru Venkataramaiah Nagarathna		18 February 2008	31 August 2021	29 October 2027	13 years, 194 days	6 years, 60 days	19 years, 254 days	Judge of Karnataka HC
2	Aravind Kumar		26 June 2009	13 February 2023	13 July 2027	13 years, 232 days	4 years, 152 days	18 years, 18 days	26th CJ of Gujarat HC

Former Judges

#	Name of the Judge	Image	Date of Appointment as Judge	Date of elevation to Supreme Court	Date of Retirement	Tenure			Immediately preceding office	Remarks
						As HC Judge	As Supreme Court Judge	Total tenure (including both SC and HC)
1	Kowdoor Sadananda Hegde		26 August 1957	17 July 1967	30 April 1973	9 years, 325 days	5 years, 288 days	15 years, 248 days	1st CJ of Delhi HC	Resigned from office
2	Engalaguppe Seetharamiah Venkataramiah		25 June 1970	8 March 1979	17 December 1989	8 years, 256 days	10 years, 285 days	19 years, 176 days	Judge of Karnataka HC	19th Chief Justice of India
3	Kalmanje Jagannatha Shetty		25 June 1970	1 May 1987	14 December 1991	16 years, 310 days	4 years, 228 days	21 years, 173 days	27th CJ of Allahabad HC
4	Manepalli Narayanarao Venkatachaliah		6 November 1975	5 October 1987	24 October 1994	11 years, 333 days	7 years, 20 days	18 years, 353 days	Judge of Karnataka HC	25th Chief Justice of India
5	Nanje Gowda Venkatachala		28 November 1977	1 July 1992	2 July 1995	14 years, 216 days	3 years, 2 days	17 years, 217 days	Judge of Karnataka HC
6	Sanjeevalu Rajendra Babu		19 February 1988	25 September 1997	31 May 2004	9 years, 218 days	6 years, 250 days	16 years, 103 days	Judge of Karnataka HC	34th Chief Justice of India
7	Shivaraj Virupanna Patil		29 March 1990	15 March 2000	11 January 2005	9 years, 352 days	4 years, 303 days	14 years, 289 days	21st CJ of Rajasthan HC
8	Raju Varadarajulu Raveendran		22 February 1993	9 September 2005	15 October 2011	12 years, 199 days	6 years, 37 days	18 years, 236 days	18th CJ of Madhya Pradesh HC
9	Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu		18 December 1995	17 December 2008	2 December 2015	12 years, 365 days	6 years, 351 days	19 years, 350 days	27th CJ of Kerala HC	42nd Chief Justice of India
10	Venkate Gopala Gowda		11 June 1997	24 December 2012	5 October 2016	15 years, 196 days	3 years, 287 days	19 years, 117 days	24th CJ of Orissa HC
11	Mohan Shantanagoudar		12 May 2003	17 February 2017	24 April 2021	13 years, 281 days	4 years, 67 days	17 years, 348 days	32nd CJ of Kerala HC	Died in office
12	Syed Abdul Nazeer		12 May 2003	17 February 2017	4 January 2023	13 years, 281 days	5 years, 322 days	19 years, 238 days	Judge of Karnataka HC
13	Ajjikuttira Somaiah Bopanna		6 January 2006	24 May 2019	19 May 2024	13 years, 138 days	4 years, 362 days	18 years, 135 days	37th CJ of Gauhati HC

Additional Benches

Karnataka High court bench in Kalaburagi.

The Karnataka High Court currently operates in Bengaluru, Hubballi-Dharwada and Kalaburagi. For many years there was a demand for additional benches due to the difficulty faced by people from northern regions of the state, as Bengaluru is located in the southeastern corner. This issue led to agitation, including boycott of court proceedings by lawyers in the northern region. In response, the government decided to establish circuit benches in Hubballi-Dharwada and Kalaburagi in 2006. The new benches were inaugurated on 4 and 5 July 2008, respectively. Subsequently, there was a push to make both the Hubballi-Dharwada and Kalaburagi benches permanent. As a result, the Hubballi-Dharwadaa bench became permanent on from 25 August 2013, followed by the Kalaburagi bench on 31 August 2013.

Controversies

In late 2002, 14 newspapers and periodicals reported allegations of a sex scandal involving some judges of the Karnataka High Court in Mysore. In response, the Chief Justice formed a high-level judicial inquiry committee to investigate the matter. The committee later acquitted the judges, as no substantial evidence could be found to support the allegations.

As of 2023, approximately 2.7 lakh cases were pending in Karnataka High Court, which is facing a significant backlog. The court has struggled with delays due to challenges in adhering to the Karnataka Civil Procedure Code and delivering timely justice.

As of August 2024, approximately 20 Lakh cases are pending across the state, with the High Court serving as the final custodian of justice in these matters.

See also

• Dharwad Bench of the High Court
• Kalaburagi Bench of the High Court

Further reading

• Jurisdiction and Seats of Indian High Courts
• Judge strength in High Courts increased
• Dharwada HC circuit bench gets permanent tag – Business Standard News

External links

• Royaloo Chetty, T. (1909). A Brief Sketch of the Life of T. R. A. Thumboo Chetty, C.I.E, Formerly Chief Judge and Officiating Dewan of Mysore. . Hoe & Co.Madras.
• Official Karnataka High Court website
• Luminaries who presided over the High Court