Justice Sujoy Paul was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on Friday in a ceremony held in Courtroom No. 1, the Chief Justice’s courtroom. The oath of office was administered by West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose.
Justice Paul had been serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court since the retirement of Justice T S Sivagnanam. He was transferred to the Calcutta High Court on July 18, 2025, after previously serving as a judge in the Telangana and Madhya Pradesh High Courts.
In his address following the oath-taking, Justice Paul reflected on his unplanned entry into the legal field, describing it as a journey “by default, rather than by design.” He said, “Lacking a formal lineage, I found my way through this demanding profession only because of strict discipline I embraced and the invaluable grooming I received from my seniors and the honourable judges before whom I appeared.”
He acknowledged the support he had received from members of the Bar since his arrival in Kolkata and assured that he would devote himself fully to maintaining the “purity and efficiency” of the institution.
Justice Paul gave an emotional tribute to his mother, Manjushri Paul, who was present at the event. “Having lost my father at the tender age of 15 months, the foundation of my character was laid by my mother,” he said, describing her as an assistant teacher in a government school and a recipient of the President’s Award. “She was not only my first teacher in life, but my class teacher in school,” he added.
Born in June 1964 to Late Noni Gopal Paul and Manjushri Paul, Justice Paul completed his schooling at Pandit L S Jha Model Higher Secondary School. He went on to earn his undergraduate, postgraduate, and law degrees from Rani Durgavati University in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
According to official records, he enrolled as an advocate in 1990 with the Bar Council of Madhya Pradesh and practiced extensively in civil, constitutional, industrial, service and other branches of law. He appeared before various courts and was elevated as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in May 2011, becoming a permanent judge in April 2014. He took oath as a judge of the Telangana High Court on March 24.
