Sir Pramada Charan Banerjee

Sir Pramada Charan Banerjee (1848 - 1930) commonly known as "Sir P C Banerjee" was an eminent Bengali Indian jurist of British period in the Allahabad High Court, Allahabad and Vice Chancellor of University of Allahabad, Allahabad. Sir Pramoda Charan Banerjee held office in the Allahabad High Court from 1893 to 1923 and he was the second Indian Judge after Mr. Justice Mahmood, and then, made indelible imprints greatness as Judges on the pages of Allahabad High Court’s law reports.

Sir Pramada Charan Banerjee was Vice Chancellor of University of Allahabad during 1917-1919. Sir Pramada Charan Banerjee Hostel was established and given his name in 1916 in his honor before he join the university as Vice Chancellor. This is one of the prominent hostel of the University of Allahabad. His palatial house (now the Women's College in the University) which housed a splendid library was the meeting place of the intellect of the town. He was a member of the Faculty of Law of the University of Allahabad and took the keenest interest in the progress and the development of the University. He was also a distinguished Vice-Chancellor of the University for several years. His efforts for the spread of higher education amongst his countrymen was a notable contribution made by him in the field of social service. The University of Allahabad honoured itself by conferring on him the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, in 1919. His contribution as judge and Vice-chancellor of Allahabad University is landmark for a British Indian.

Education and academics

He was educated at the Presidency College at Calcutta and took the B. A. Degree with distinction. He obtained the 'Ryan Scholarship' and passed the Bachelor of Laws Examination of the University of Calcutta in 1869.

Advocacy

He was enrolled as a Vakil of the Calcutta High Court in the same year but shifted to Allahabad and commenced his practice in the High Court in November, 1870. His contemporaries at the Barwere Munshi Hanuman Prasad, Babu Pearey Mohan Banerji, Pandit Ajudhiyanath and Mr. Charles Dillon. Two years later he was offered an appointment as a Munsif of the 2nd Grade which he accepted much to the regret of his colleagues at the Bar. While still a Munsif he was appointed Deputy Registrar of the High Court. His tenure of office as an officer of this Court proved an extremely successful one. Eight years later in 1880 he superseded 19 senior Munsifs and was appointed a Judge of the Small Causes Court at Agra which post till then had been held by Europeans only. He was the first Indian Member of the Provincial Judicial Service to be appointed to responsible office. In 1886, he was transferred to Allahabad and for seven years was the Judge, Small Causes Court, Allahabad.

Judiciary

In 1893 he was appointed an, additional Judge of the Chief Court of Oudh at Lucknow. Four months later, he was elevated to the Bench of the High Court at Allahabad on the 20th of December, 1893. He retired on the 1st of August, 1923, and during this memorable career he worked devotedly on the Bench and exhibited unruffled patience, unvarying courtesy and an unfailing desire to do justice. His reputation as a Judge of outstanding ability, legal acumen and scholarship stands high and the pages of the law reports enshrine his luminous expositions on many an intricate point of law. His memorable minority judgment in the Full Bench case of Bhagwan Singh versus hagwansingh (reported in Indian Law Reports 17 Allahabad, page 294) on the question of adoption bore a stamp of industry and research into the intricacies of the Hindu Law. Although the above reported case is more often cited as an example of the great mastery on questions of Hindu Law by Chief Justice Sir John Edge, whose opinion was the leading majority judgment in that Full Bench case, the Privy Council by its decision (reported in Indian Law Reports 21 Allahabad 412), reversed the majority opinion and upheld the view taken by Mr. Justice Banerji. He was rightly recognised as an authority on Hindu Law throughout India.

On the law of Mortgage his opinions were read and followed by Courts and Counsel alike throughout the country. His opinion in the reported case of Balkishan versus Legge, (I. L. R. 19 Allahabad 434) was an example of lucid exposition of the law on Mortgage by conditional sale, commonly known as "bai bil wafa" in this State. The Privy Council upheld the decision on appeal. His pronouncements on the law of the Transfer of Property were significant and were major contributions to the case-law on the subject. Judges of the Privy Council respected his opinions and his judgments were seldom overruled or set aside. He was a prodigious and indefatigable worker. He studied each record with great care. He would not hesitate to pierce the armour of any counsel who dared advance an untenable argument or one not based on record, yet, he was also so considerate, gentle and courteous that the inexperienced and the junior member of the Bar was promptly set at ease in his presence.

Personal life

Sir Pramoda Charan Banerjee was born in Kolkata (Calcutta), in the province of Bengal to a Bengali Brahmin family on the 10th of April, 1848 and died in 1930. He was a man of his learning and knowledge. His taste was confined not merely to the reading of legal literature. He was a widely read man. Sir Pramoda Charan was not merely a great Judge but a reputed educationist as well. He devoted considerable time to the cause of education. Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru spoke of him as "one of those who added distinctly to our status both as an Indian and as a lawyer and to our intellectual and moral qualities. The legal profession could not have asked for a better representative on the Bench and the Judicial Service might well take pride that it could produce a man of his talent and of his calibre". In private life Sir Pramoda Charan enjoyed the highest respect for his sublime character and personal charm of manners. Those who knew him personally remembered his modesty and his courtesy. He was charitable and kind, but correct in his approach to men and matters. No one could ever forget a visit to his house-his hospitality and cordiality were renowned. He was a man of taste and his collections were an object of envy to the visitors. His son Lalit Mohan Banerjee followed his distinguished father and was raised to the Allahabad High Court Bench in 1926. On his death at the age of 82, Sir Grimwood Mears, the then Chief Justice, said of him: "At times, on one's journey through life, one meets men so abundantly dowered with qualities that lift them so much above their fellow-men, that there seems to be almost an element of unfairness in so lavish a concentration of gifts". The contributions of Sir Pramoda Charan were manifold and significant for the well-being of his countrymen and he remembered in the present judicial system as well as in Allahabad High Court.

External links

• Allahabad University Official Website
• Allahabad University Website.
• Official website
• Manna And Ors. vs Emperor on 15 August, 1917 Equivalent citations: 42 Ind Cas 783 Author: P C Banerjee; Bench: P C Banerjee JUDGMENT; P. C. Banerjee, J.
• P C Banerji in Indian Kanoon
• Pramada Charan Banerji in Indian Kanoon
• Charan Banerjee Pramada Charan Banerjee appears in the document: Bipul Behari Chakravarty vs Nikhil Chandra Chakravarty And ... on 17 April, 1929
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 1
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 2
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 3
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 4
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 5
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 6
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 7
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 8
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 9
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 10
• JUDGMENT under SIR P C BANERJEE Bench 11
• “Sir P. C. Banerji was appointed to succeed Mr. Knox, who was elevated to the office of the Legal Remembrancer, a post then marked out for members of the I. C. S. of outstanding merit and ability. Sir P. C. Banerji was the first Indian to hold that office”. (PDF)
• “Some English Judges whom I Admired (one of them is Sir P C Banerjee: by SRI S. P. SINHA, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court and Ex-Judge, High Court, Allahabad”. (PDF)