History

According to the available data the judgeship of Muzaffarpur was created in the year 1875 or a few years earlier thereto. At that time the Judgeship was under the administrative control of the Hon’ble Calcutta High court. Initially the Judgeship of Muzaffarpur embraced within it’s territorial jurisdiction the areas of present Judgeship of Darbhanga, Motihari and Chapra. At that time it was known as the district of Tirhut and the areas extended in the north to Nepal, on the south upto river Ganga and in the west encompassed areas upto the borders of U.P. With the passage of time the Judgeship of Darbhanga was carved out of this Judgeship in or about the year 1898 and the judgeship of Chapra came into being in or about 1899 by delineating parts of this Judgeship. There after the Judgeship of Motihari was created in the Year 1946.It is revealed that the civil justice was in the hands of the District Judge, two Subordinate Judges and three Munsifs at Sadar and two Munsifs at each of the two the then sub-divisional headquarters at Hajipur and Sitamarhi.

Criminal Justice was administered by the District & Sessions Judge, the District Magistrate and various Deputy and sub-Deputy Magistrates at the headquarters and sub-divisional stations. As mentioned by O’Melley, ICS in the District Gazetteer of Muzaffarpur of 1907, although the District of Champaran was also include within the limits of Muzaffarpur Sessions division and the jurisdiction of the court of District Judge but the court of sessions for cases committed from Champaran was held at Motihari, the headquarters of that District and District and Sessions Judge of Muzaffarpur held courts at Motihari for the trial of the more serious cases committed from Champaran by the Assistant Sessions Judge stationed at Motihari.Subsequently, the Judgeship of Sitamarhi was established in about the year 1972-73 and that of Vaishali at Hazipur about the year 1977-78 by upgrading the respective territorial areas of those earlier subdivisions. Mr. R.J. Richardson was the first District & Sessions Judge of this Judgeship.