The Sheriff of Kolkata (formerly known as the Sheriff of Calcutta) 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.
Contents
History
The office of Sheriff of Calcutta 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.
Following Indian independence, The Calcutta Sheriff's Act 1948 (or West Bengal Act XXX of 1948) was enacted on 15 October 1948. This was to regulate the office of Sheriff under the Dominion of India. The Act stated that the Sheriff would now be appointed by the Governor of West Bengal and that the Government of West Bengal would take on the Sheriff's financial obligations while the office would remain as a civic post.
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
1921: Chunilal Bose, Chemist
1935: Abdul Halim Khan Ghuznavi