Who was the first President of India?

Dr. Rajendra Prasad was the first President of India and served from 26 January 1950.

Who was the first Chief Justice of India?

Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania was the first Chief Justice of India when the Supreme Court came into existence in 1950.

Who was the first Vice-President of India?

Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan was the first Vice-President of India.

Who was the first Prime Minister of India?

Jawaharlal Nehru was the first Prime Minister of India.

Who was the first woman President of India?

Pratibha Devisingh Patil was the first woman President of India.

Who was the first woman Prime Minister of India?

Indira Gandhi was the first woman Prime Minister of India.

Who was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India?

Justice M. Fathima Beevi was the first woman judge of the Supreme Court of India, elevated on 6 October 1989.

Which is the oldest High Court in India?

The High Court at Calcutta is the oldest High Court in India and was established on 1 July 1862.

Who was the first Indian President of the International Court of Justice?

Nagendra Singh served as President of the International Court of Justice from 1985 to 1988.

Verified and updated: 1 September 2026

First in India: President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice, Judges and Legal Pioneer

Q: Who was the first Indian judge of the International Court of Justice?

Sir Benegal Narsing Rau, commonly known as B. N. Rau, became an Indian judge of the International Court of Justice in 1952.

A concise, verified reference to important constitutional, judicial and legal "firsts" in India, including the first President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Attorney General, Solicitor General, women judges and India's early representation at the International Court of Justice.

Important correction: The first Indian judge of the International Court of Justice was Sir Benegal Narsing Rau (B. N. Rau), who joined the Court in 1952. Nagendra Singh was a later Indian judge and became the first Indian to serve as President of the ICJ, from 1985 to 1988.

Verified "First in India" list

S.No.	First in India	Name	Year / Date	Verification
1	First President of India	Dr. Rajendra Prasad	26 January 1950	President of India official archive
2	First Chief Justice of India	Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania	26 January 1950	Supreme Court of India
3	First Vice-President of India	Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan	13 May 1952	Vice-President of India official archive
4	First Prime Minister of India	Jawaharlal Nehru	15 August 1947	Prime Minister of India official archive
5	First Deputy Prime Minister of India	Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel	15 August 1947	Government historical record
6	First woman President of India	Pratibha Devisingh Patil	25 July 2007	President of India official archive
7	First woman Prime Minister of India	Indira Gandhi	24 January 1966	Prime Minister of India official archive
8	First Chief Justice of the Federal Court of India	Sir Maurice Linford Gwyer	1937	Supreme Court institutional history
9	First Indian judge of the International Court of Justice	Sir Benegal Narsing Rau (B. N. Rau)	1952	International Court of Justice
10	First Indian President of the International Court of Justice	Nagendra Singh	1985-1988	International Court of Justice
11	Oldest / first High Court in India	High Court at Calcutta	Established 1 July 1862	Calcutta High Court
12	First Attorney General for India	M. C. Setalvad	1950	Department of Legal Affairs / constitutional office
13	First Solicitor General of India	C. K. Daphtary	1950	Department of Legal Affairs
14	First Speaker of the Lok Sabha	G. V. Mavalankar	1952	Lok Sabha / Parliament historical record
15	First woman Governor of an Indian State	Sarojini Naidu	Governor of United Provinces, 1947	Government historical record
16	First woman judge of the Supreme Court of India	Justice M. Fathima Beevi	6 October 1989	Supreme Court of India
17	First woman Chief Justice of a High Court in India	Justice Leila Seth	Chief Justice, Himachal Pradesh High Court, 1991	High Court history
18	First woman High Court judge in India	Justice Anna Chandy	Kerala High Court, 1959	Indian judicial history
19	First woman judge in India	Anna Chandy	Appointed Munsiff in Travancore, 1937	Indian judicial history
20	First woman magistrate in India	Oman Kunjamma	Historical reference	Historical identification retained; designation and chronology are reported inconsistently in secondary sources, so verify before citation in academic work.
21	Pioneer / first woman advocate associated with legal practice in India	Cornelia Sorabji	Pioneer woman lawyer; enrolled after women were legally admitted to the profession	Historical legal record
22	First woman Speaker of the Lok Sabha	Meira Kumar	3 June 2009	Lok Sabha / Parliament historical record

Judicial and constitutional milestones

The Supreme Court of India came into existence on 26 January 1950 and was inaugurated on 28 January 1950. Justice Harilal Jekisundas Kania was its first Chief Justice. Before the Supreme Court, the Federal Court of India functioned from 1937 to 1950. The High Court at Calcutta, established on 1 July 1862, is the oldest High Court in India.

India's early participation in the International Court of Justice is sometimes described incorrectly in general-knowledge lists. Sir Benegal Narsing Rau served as an ICJ judge from 1952 to 1953. Nagendra Singh served as an ICJ judge from 1973 to 1988 and as President from 1985 to 1988.

Women pioneers in Indian public and legal life

Pratibha Devisingh Patil became the first woman President of India, while Indira Gandhi was the first woman Prime Minister. Justice M. Fathima Beevi became the first woman judge of the Supreme Court in 1989. Justice Leila Seth became the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court, and Anna Chandy is recognised as a pioneering first woman judge and later the first woman High Court judge in India.

Some early descriptions such as "first woman advocate" and "first woman magistrate" vary across historical sources because the legal profession and judicial designations developed differently across British India and princely States. The page therefore uses cautious wording for Cornelia Sorabji and Oman Kunjamma rather than presenting disputed historical labels as an absolute statutory fact.

Official sources

Current institutional and historical verification can be made through the President of India, Vice-President of India, Prime Minister of India, Supreme Court of India, Calcutta High Court, International Court of Justice, Department of Legal Affairs and Parliament of India.

Note: Historical "first" claims can depend on the exact office, jurisdiction, enrolment rule and date being used. For academic, competitive-examination or legal citation purposes, the linked institutional source should be preferred over unsourced compilations.