Sambhunath Pandit, the first Indian to become a judge at Calcutta High Court, passed away on this day. He was 47. His brief life was one of extraordinary accomplishment.
He was born in a Kashmiri Pandit family, which had migrated to Kolkata. He had studied at Oriental Seminary. He learnt Urdu and Persian in Lucknow.
A brilliant student who had to abandon his studies early, he started work as assistant to the Sadr Court Record-keeper at Rs 16 every month. But he soon established himself as a successful criminal lawyer. He was appointed junior government pleader, then senior government pleader. He taught law at Presidency College. In 1863, he was appointed the first Indian judge at Calcutta High Court.
His contribution towards progressive social ideas was immense. A friend of John Drinkwater Bethune, Pandit supported his school for girls, sending his own daughter to the school. He was a lifelong supporter of Vidyasagar, helping him actively in the widow remarriage campaign. He played an active role in setting up the society that became the Bhowanipore Brahmo Samaj.
A major government hospital and a street in the city are named after Pandit.