India's oldest litigation at 72 years was finally settled by the Calcutta High Court last week. The case pertained to the liquidation of the erstwhile Berhampore Bank Ltd.
Calcutta High Court still has two of the country's next five oldest pending cases to deal with. These were filed in 1952.
Of the remaining three cases, two are civil suits being heard in civil courts in West Bengal's Malda and one is pending in the Madras High Court. The Malda Courts have reportedly lined up hearings in March and November this year.
The Berhampore case is also mentioned in the National Judicial Data Grid as the oldest one to be heard in Indian court. The case started after the Calcutta High Court ordered the insolvent Berhampore Bank to wind up operations on November 19, 1948. A petition challenging the liquidation proceedings was filed on January 1, 1951 and registered the same day as "Case No. 71/1951
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