The Chamber of Princes, Tilak Marg and the Registry of the Supreme Court of India

Background

The Supreme Court came into existence on 26 January 1950 with the coming into force of the Constitution. On 28 January 1950, two days after India became a Sovereign Democratic Republic, the Supreme Court was inaugurated. The inauguration took place in the Chamber of Princes in the old Parliament building where the Federal Court of India sat for 12 years from 1937 to 1950, and it was attended by the first Chief Justice of India, Harilal J. Kania. The Supreme Court initially functioned from the old Parliament House till it moved to the present building located on Tilak Marg, New Delhi in 1958. The first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad inaugurated the present building of the Supreme Court of India on 4 August 1958. It has a 27.6 metre high dome and a spacious colonnaded verandah. Three extensions were made to the original building- for the first time in 1979, then in 1994, and again in 2015. There are 19 courtrooms in the various wings of the building. The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in English. The practice and procedure of working of the Registry on the judicial side is regulated by the Supreme Court Rules, 2013 and Handbook on Practice and Procedure and Office Procedure.