The Union Government has notified the appointment of Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty as the Acting Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court following the retirement of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul on June 20, 2026.
The appointment was notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice (Department of Justice) on June 19. Acting under Article 223 of the Constitution of India, the President authorised Justice Chakraborty, a sitting judge of the Calcutta High Court, to discharge the functions and duties of the office of the Chief Justice consequent upon the vacancy created by Justice Paul’s superannuation.
Article 223 empowers the President to appoint a judge of a High Court to perform the duties of the Chief Justice when the office falls vacant or when the Chief Justice is unable to discharge the functions attached to the post.
Justice Chakraborty currently serves as the Executive Chairman of the West Bengal State Legal Services Authority and has played a significant role in the administration of justice beyond his judicial assignments. He was also a member of the Calcutta High Court’s Computer Committee during the tenure of former Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam and was associated with several technology-driven judicial reforms aimed at strengthening digital infrastructure and improving court administration.
Born on November 27, 1966, into a family of legal practitioners, Justice Chakraborty enrolled as an advocate on January 29, 1991. He practised before the Calcutta High Court for more than two decades, primarily appearing in civil, constitutional, service and education law matters. During his years at the Bar, he developed considerable expertise in constitutional and public law litigation.
He was elevated as an Additional Judge of the Calcutta High Court on October 30, 2013, and was appointed a permanent judge on March 14, 2016. Since then, he has adjudicated a wide range of civil, constitutional and administrative law disputes while contributing to the institutional functioning of the High Court.
Justice Chakraborty assumes charge following the retirement of Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, who demitted office upon attaining the age of superannuation. Justice Paul had served as a judge of the Calcutta High Court since July 2025 before taking over as Chief Justice.
At his farewell function, Justice Paul commended judicial officers across West Bengal for completing the adjudication of nearly 60 lakh cases arising from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise within the timeline prescribed by the Supreme Court. He described the exercise as an unprecedented and complex judicial undertaking that required the judiciary to navigate an entirely new area of adjudicatory responsibility.
According to Justice Paul, the adjudication process had been entrusted to the Calcutta High Court by the Supreme Court in February this year and was required to be completed before the nomination deadline for the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. He acknowledged that concerns had initially been raised regarding whether such a large volume of cases could be disposed of within the stipulated timeframe.
Justice Paul noted that judicial officers from West Bengal, assisted by colleagues from Jharkhand and Odisha, worked continuously to complete the assignment. He highlighted that leave periods were cancelled and judicial officers continued functioning through holidays until the final adjudication lists were published. He described the effort as a significant institutional achievement reflecting the commitment and efficiency of the subordinate judiciary.
With Justice Chakraborty’s appointment as Acting Chief Justice, the Calcutta High Court enters a transitional phase pending the appointment of a permanent Chief Justice, while continuing to handle a substantial constitutional, civil and public law docket before one of the country’s oldest constitutional courts.
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