Advocate-General of Madras

Last updated May 07, 2025

The Advocate-General of Madras was charged with advising the Government of the British-administered Madras Presidency on legal matters. The Presidency existed from 1652 to 1950. Prior to 1858, when it was administered by the East India Company, the Advocate-General was the senior law officer of that company and also the Attorney-General of the Sovereign of Great Britain and an ex-officio member of the Madras Legislative Council.

List of Advocates-General
Madras Presidency
Madras State
Tamil Nadu
References

List of Advocates-General

Madras Presidency

Alexander Anstruther 1803–?1812
Sir Samuel Toller 1812–1821
Herbert Abingdon Draper Compton 1822–1828 ^[1]
George Norton 1828–1839 ^[2]
W. Bathie 1833–1834 (acting)
Thomas Sydney Smith 1861–1863
John Bruce Norton 1863–1868 ^[3]
John Dawson Mayne 1868–1872 (acting)
Henry Stewart Cunningham 1872–1877
Patrick O'Sullivan 1877–1882
Hale Horatio Shephard 1885–1887
James Spring Branson 1887–1897
V. Bhashyam Aiyangar 1897–1898 (acting)
Charles Arnold White 1898–1899 (afterwards Chief Justice of Madras, 1899)
V. Bhashyam Aiyangar 1899–1900 (acting)
John Edward Power Wallis 1900–1906 (later Chief Justice of Madras, 1914)
C. Sankaran Nair 1906–1907
P. S. Sivaswami Iyer 1907–1912
S. Srinivasa Iyengar 1912–1920
C. P. Ramaswami Iyer 1920–1923
C. Madhavan Nair 1923–1924
T. R. Venkatarama Sastri 1924–1928
Alladi Krishnaswamy Iyer 1929–1944
P. V. Rajamannar 1944–1945 (later Chief Justice of Madras, 1948)
K. Rajah Iyer 1945–1950

Madras State

Tamil Nadu

Govind Swaminadhan 1967–1976
K. Parasaran 1976–1977
V. P. Raman 1977–1979
R. Krishnamoorthy 1980–1989
K. Subramaniam 1991–1994
R. Krishnamoorthy 1994–1996
K.V.Venkatapathi 1996–2001
N. R. Chandran 2001–2006
R. Viduthalai 2006–2007
G. Masilamani 2007–2009
P. S. Raman 2009–2011
A. Navaneethakrishnan 2011–2013
A. L. Somayaji 2013–2016
R. Muthukumarasamy 2016–2017
Vijay Narayan 2017–2021
R. Shunmugasundaram 2021–2023

References

↑ Asiatic Journal, Volume 14. p. 92.
↑ The Madras Tercentenary Commemoration Volume. p. 62.
↑ "Miscellaneous papers of John Bruce Norton, (1815-83), barrister, Advocate General of Madras". National Archives. Retrieved 30 October 2015.

Attorneys general of the British Empire and the United Kingdom

Legend: Current territory; Former territory; * Now a Commonwealth realm; Now a member of the Commonwealth of Nations

Europe
1175-1921 Ireland 1708–1757 Menorca Since 1713 Gibraltar 1763–1782 Menorca 1798–1802 Menorca 1800–1813 Malta (Protectorate) 1813–1964 Malta (Colony) 1807–1890 Heligoland 1809–1864 Ionian Islands 1878–1960 Cyprus 1921–1937 Irish Free State

North America

17th century and before		18th century	19th and 20th century
1579 New Albion 1583–1907 Newfoundland 1605–1979 * Saint Lucia 1607–1776 Virginia Since 1619 Bermuda 1620–1691 Plymouth Colony 1623–1883 Saint Kitts *(Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1624–1966 * Barbados 1625–1650 Saint Croix 1627–1979 * Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1628–1883 Nevis *(Saint Kitts & Nevis) 1629–1691 Massachusetts Bay Colony 1632–1776 Maryland since 1632 Montserrat 1632–1860 Antigua *(Antigua & Barbuda) 1636–1776 Connecticut 1636–1776 Rhode Island 1637–1662 New Haven Colony	1643–1860 Bay Islands Since 1650 Anguilla 1655–1850 Mosquito Coast (protectorate) 1655–1962 * Jamaica 1663–1712 Carolina 1664–1776 New York 1665–1674 and 1702–1776 New Jersey Since 1666 British Virgin Islands Since 1670 Cayman Islands 1670–1973 * Bahamas 1670–1870 Rupert's Land 1671–1816 Leeward Islands 1674–1702 East Jersey 1674–1702 West Jersey 1680–1776 New Hampshire 1681–1776 Pennsylvania 1686–1689 Dominion of New England 1691–1776 Massachusetts	1701–1776 Delaware 1712–1776 North Carolina 1712–1776 South Carolina 1713–1867 Nova Scotia 1733–1776 Georgia 1762–1974 * Grenada 1763–1978 Dominica 1763–1873 Prince Edward Island 1763–1791 Quebec 1763–1783 East Florida 1763–1783 West Florida 1784–1867 New Brunswick 1791–1841 Lower Canada 1791–1841 Upper Canada Since 1799 Turks and Caicos Islands	1818–1846 Columbia District/Oregon Country ¹ 1833–1960 Windward Islands 1833–1960 Leeward Islands 1841–1867 Province of Canada 1849–1866 Vancouver Island 1853–1863 Colony of the Queen Charlotte Islands 1858–1866 British Columbia 1859–1870 North-Western Territory 1860–1981 * British Antigua and Barbuda 1862–1863 Stikine Territory 1866–1871 Vancouver Island and British Columbia 1867–1931 * Dominion of Canada ² 1871–1964 British Honduras (*Belize) 1882–1983 * Saint Kitts and Nevis 1889–1962 Trinidad and Tobago 1907–1949 Dominion of Newfoundland ³ 1958–1962 West Indies Federation

1. Occupied jointly with the United States.
2. In 1931, Canada and other British dominions obtained self-government through the Statute of Westminster. See Canada's name.
3. Gave up self-rule in 1934, but remained a de jure Dominion until it joined Canada in 1949.

South America
1651–1667 Willoughbyland (Suriname) 1670–1688 Saint Andrew and Providence Islands ⁴ 1831–1966 British Guiana (Guyana) Since 1833 Falkland Islands ⁵ Since 1908 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ⁵
4. Now the San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia. 5. Occupied by Argentina during the Falklands War of April–June 1982.

Africa

17th and 18th centuries	19th century		20th century
Since 1658 Saint Helena ¹⁴ 1792–1961 Sierra Leone 1795–1803 Cape Colony	Since 1815 Ascension Island ¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha ¹⁴ 1806–1910 Cape Colony 1807–1808 Madeira 1810–1968 Mauritius 1816–1965 The Gambia 1856–1910 Natal 1868–1966 Basutoland (Lesotho) 1874–1957 Gold Coast (Ghana) 1882–1922 Egypt	1884–1966 Bechuanaland (Botswana) 1884–1960 British Somaliland 1887–1897 Zululand 1890–1962 Uganda 1890–1963 Zanzibar (Tanzania) 1891–1964 Nyasaland (Malawi) 1891–1907 British Central Africa Protectorate 1893–1968 Swaziland 1895–1920 East Africa Protectorate 1899–1956 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan	1900–1914 Northern Nigeria 1900–1914 Southern Nigeria 1900–1910 Orange River Colony 1900–1910 Transvaal Colony 1906–1954 Nigeria Colony 1910–1931 South Africa 1914–1954 Nigeria Colony and Protectorate 1915–1931 South West Africa (Namibia) 1919–1960 Cameroons (Cameroon) ⁶ 1920–1963 Kenya 1922–1961 Tanganyika (Tanzania) ⁶ 1923–1965 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) ⁷ 1924–1964 Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) 1954–1960 Nigeria 1979–1980 Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) ⁷

6. League of Nations mandate.
7. Self-governing Southern Rhodesia unilaterally declared independence in 1965 (as Rhodesia) and continued as an unrecognised state until the 1979 Lancaster House Agreement. After recognised independence in 1980, Zimbabwe was a member of the Commonwealth until it withdrew in 2003.

Asia

17th and 18th century	19th century		20th century
1652–1950 Madras Presidency 1668-1947 Bombay Presidency 1685–1824 Bencoolen (Sumatra) 1702–1705 Pulo Condore 1757–1947 Bengal Presidency (West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh) 1762–1764 Manila and Cavite 1786–1946 Penang (Malaysia) 1795–1948 Ceylon (Sri Lanka) 1796–1965 Maldives	1812–1824 Banka (Sumatra) and Billiton (Sumatra) 1819–1826 British Malaya (West Malaysia and Singapore) 1826–1946 Straits Settlements (Malaysia and Singapore) 1839–1967 Colony of Aden 1839–1842 Afghanistan 1841–1997 Hong Kong 1841–1946 Kingdom of Sarawak (Malaysia) 1848–1946 Labuan (Malaysia) 1858–1947 British India (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Burma) 1874–1963 British Borneo (East Malaysia and Brunei)	1879–1919 Afghanistan (protectorate) 1882–1963 British North Borneo (Malaysia) 1885–1946 Unfederated Malay States 1888–1984 Sultanate of Brunei 1891–1971 Muscat and Oman protectorate 1892–1971 Trucial States 1895–1946 Federated Malay States 1898–1930 Weihai Garrison 1878–1960 Cyprus	1907–1949 Bhutan (protectorate) 1918–1961 Kuwait protectorate 1920–1932 Iraq ⁸ 1921–1946 Transjordan ⁸ 1923–1948 Palestine ⁸ 1945–1946 South Vietnam 1946–1963 North Borneo (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Sarawak (Malaysia) 1946–1963 Singapore 1946–1948 Malayan Union 1948–1957 Federation of Malaya (Malaysia) Since 1960 Akrotiri and Dhekelia (before as part of Cyprus) Since 1965 British Indian Ocean Territory (before as part of Mauritius and the Seychelles)

⁸ League of Nations mandate. Iraq's mandate was not enacted and replaced by the Anglo-Iraqi Treaty

Oceania

18th and 19th centuries		20th century
1788–1901 New South Wales 1803–1901 Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania 1807–1863 Auckland Islands ⁹ 1824–1980 New Hebrides (Vanuatu) 1824–1901 Queensland 1829–1901 Swan River Colony/Western Australia 1836–1901 South Australia since 1838 Pitcairn Islands	1841–1907 Colony of New Zealand 1851–1901 Victoria 1874–1970 Fiji ¹⁰ 1877–1976 British Western Pacific Territories 1884–1949 Territory of Papua 1888–1901 Cook Islands ⁹ 1889–1948 Union Islands (Tokelau) ⁹ 1892–1979 Gilbert and Ellice Islands ¹¹ 1893–1978 British Solomon Islands ¹²	1900–1970 Tonga (protected state) 1900–1974 Niue ⁹ 1901–1942 * Commonwealth of Australia 1907–1953 * Dominion of New Zealand 1919–1942 Nauru 1945–1968 Nauru 1919–1949 Territory of New Guinea 1949–1975 Territory of Papua and New Guinea ¹³

9. Now part of the * Realm of New Zealand .
10. Suspended member.
11. Now Kiribati and * Tuvalu .
12. Now the * Solomon Islands .
13. Now * Papua New Guinea .

Antarctica and South Atlantic
Since 1658 Saint Helena ¹⁴ Since 1815 Ascension Island ¹⁴ Since 1816 Tristan da Cunha ¹⁴ Since 1908 British Antarctic Territory ¹⁵ 1841–1933 Australian Antarctic Territory (transferred to the Commonwealth of Australia) 1841–1947 Ross Dependency (transferred to the Realm of New Zealand)
14. Since 2009 part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha ; Ascension Island (1922–) and Tristan da Cunha (1938–) were previously dependencies of Saint Helena. 15. Both claimed in 1908; territories formed in 1962 (British Antarctic Territory) and 1985 (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands).

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