Bira Kishore Ray
Bira Kishore Ray | |
|---|---|
| First Chief Justice, Odisha High Court | |
| In office 26 July 1948 – 30 October 1951 | |
| First Advocate General, Orissa | |
| Succeeded by | B. Jagannadha Das |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 21 October 1891 Cuttack district, Bagalgarh village |
| Died | 26 July 1958 (aged 66) |
| Children | Sukanta Kishore Ray |
Bira Kishore Ray (21 October 1891 – 26 July 1958) was an Indian judge who was the first Chief Justice of Orissa High Court.[1][2][3]
Early years
Ray was born on 21 October 1891 in an aristocratic landholding family at Bagalgarh village of Cuttack district.[4]
Personal life, education and legal career
Bira Kishore was educated in Ravenshaw college and later obtained a degree in law from the University of Calcutta. On April 1, 1936, Orissa was made a separate province but no separate High Court was provided for it. Bira Kishore assumed the role of the first Advocate General of Orissa Province in 1937 during the tenure of Prime Minister Krushna Chandra Gajapati of Paralakhemundi. On July 26, 1938, the High Court Bar Association at Cuttack adopted a Resolution demanding a separate High Court for Orissa and on February 11, 1939, a Resolution was moved in the Legislative Assembly situated at Cuttack requesting the Government to constitute a committee to examine the question of establishing a separate High Court in Orissa. Following this action by the Odisha legislature a resolution was passed on August 19, 1942 by the Law Department of the Government of Odisha where Bira was made Chairman of the Orissa High Court Committee along with Rai Bahadur Chinta Mani Acharya,President of High Court Bar Association at Cuttack, Bichitrananda Das, and Advocate, D.N. Narasingha Rao Berhampur as Members and J.E. Maher, Superintendent and Remembrancer of Legal Affairs, Odisha as the Secretary.[5][6][7]
Later he was elevated to the Bench of Patna High Court in 1945.[8][9][10] He was also the first Odia to become the Judge of Patna High Court.[11] On July 26, 1948, Orissa High Court with Bira Kishore Ray as the Chief Justice and B. Jagannadha Das, L. Panigrahi and R. L. Narasingham as Puisne Judges was inaugurated by H.J.Kania, the then Chief Justice of the Federal Court of India. To mark the 75th anniversary of the formation of High Court of Orissa a commemorative stamp and first day cover and information brochure published by the India Post.
Ray was married to Latika. He died on 26 July 1958, the 10th anniversary of the Orissa High Court.[12] He was also the editor of a short-lived English language newspaper called the Orissa Times and was associated with the Orissa state formation movement and would be a host to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru during his visits to Cuttack.[13][14][15]
References
- ^ "NAME OF THE HON'BLE CHIEF JUSTICES OF ORISSA" (PDF). odisha.gov.in/. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ^ Harihar Mahapatra, Justice (15 February 2011). My Life, My Work. Allied Publishers. ISBN 9788184246407. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ^ "Name of the Hon'ble Chief Justices of Orissa" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-20.
- ^ "ଓଡ଼ିଶା ହାଇକୋର୍ଟର ପ୍ରଥମ ମୁଖ୍ୟ ବିଚାରପତି ବୀର କିଶୋର ରାୟଙ୍କ ଶ୍ରାଦ୍ଧବାର୍ଷିକୀ". Odisha Sambad. 26 July 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
- ^ "High Court of Orissa". Official Website of e-Committee, Supreme Court of India. Retrieved 3 August 2025.
- ^ Patnaik, Lalmohan (27 July 2016). "High Court observes special day".
- ^ "Postage Stamps:: Postage Stamps,Stamp issue calender 2014, Paper postage, Commemorative and definitive stamps, Service Postage Stamps, Philately Offices, Philatelic Bureaux and counters, Mint stamps". postagestamps.gov.in. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
- ^ "High court turns 66". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 21 June 2015.
- ^ "List of Retired Judges". patnahighcourt.bih.nic.in/. Archived from the original on 9 February 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ^ "History of Orissa High Court". www.orissa.oriyaonline.com/. Retrieved 20 June 2015.
- ^ Patnaik, LalMohan (27 July 2014). "High Court turns 66". Archived from the original on 21 June 2015. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
- ^ "Orissa High Court turns 65". www.telegraphindia.com. Archived from the original on 1 August 2013.
- ^ Ojha, P. N.; Thakur, Upendra, eds. (1987). A Peep Into Seventyfive Years of Bihar : 75th Annual Session of Numismatic Society of India. Bihar Research Society.
- ^ "Great Britain: Judicial Committee of the Privy Council". American Journal of International Law. 38 (2): 305–310. April 1944. doi:10.2307/2192704. ISSN 0002-9300.
- ^ Orissa Review (Volume 53). Bhubaneswar: Published and issued by Home (Public Relations) Department, Government of Orissa. 1996. p. 16.
External links