Regina Guha (died 10 August 1919) was an Indian lawyer and teacher. In 1916, Guha fought a notable case challenging the interpretation of legal provisions that effectively prohibited women from practicing law in India.[1]
Regina Guha | |
|---|---|
 Guha c. 1913 | |
| Died | 10 August 1919 |
| Education | University of Calcutta, LLB, 1916 |
| Relatives | Hannah Sen (sister) |
Early life and education
editRegina Guha was born to Abhijit Guha, a Bengali lawyer, and a Baghdadi Jewish mother.[1] Guha's father converted from Hinduism to Judaism.[1] One of four sisters[2][3], Guha was the sister of the educator, politician, and feminist Hannah Sen.[1][4]
Regina completed her Master of Arts in 1913, earning a first class degree, and standing first in her class.[4][5] In 1916, Guha graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Calcutta.[6]
Career
editIn 1916, Guha applied to be enrolled as a pleader (lawyer) in the Alipore District Judge's court, but her application was rejected on the grounds that women were not permitted to enrol. Regina challenged this decision at the Calcutta High Court, arguing that the governing legislation, the Legal Practitioners Act, allowed qualified "persons" to enroll as lawyers, and that the definition of 'person' included women. She was represented by Eardley Norton, a lawyer and member of the Indian National Congress.[1][4][7] In 1916, a bench of five male judges of the Calcutta High Court ruled, in the case of In Re Regina Guha, that although the governing law, the Legal Practitioners Act 1879, used the term 'person' in regard to enrolment, this term did not include women.[8][9] They accordingly denied her the right to enroll as a lawyer.[10]
Guha went on to become the headmistress of the Jewish Girls' School in Kolkata, and was the first Jewish principal of the school.[4][3] Guha was a post-graduate tutor in English at the University of Calcutta.[2]
Legacy
editIn 1919, Guha's siblings established an endowment at University of Calcutta in her memory.[1][4] The "Regina Guha Medal" is given to the student who stood first in the M.A. English examination each year.[1][4][2]
In 1921, Sudhanshubala Hazra unsuccessful challenged the prohibition against women practitioners in the Patna High Court.[7] In 1923, the enactment of the Legal Practitioners (Women) Act eventually removed this restriction, allowing women to enroll and practice law.[1]
Personal life
editOn 10 August 1919 Guha died[2] in Calcutta. Guha died of rheumatic fever whilst in her twenties.[3]
Additional reading
edit- In re Regina Guha (1916) 21 CWN 74 the Calcutta High Court).
References
edit- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Sen, Jhuma (13 February 2019). "The Indian Women Who Fought Their Way Into the Legal Profession". The Wire. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- 1 2 3 4 Duke, Angelina; Guha, Hannah; Guha, Kitty (1919). "Proceedings of the Council of Post–Graduate Teaching in Arts: No.8". Council of Post-Graduate Teaching Calcutta University. Proceedings of the Councils and Executive Committees. Calcutta University Press: 221–222. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 Silliman, Jael (2019). "Muslim students in the Jewish Girls' School, Kolkata". In Weil, Shalva (ed.). The Baghdadi Jews in India: Maintaining Communities, Negotiating Identities and Creating Super-Diversity (1 ed.). Oxon; New York City: Routledge. ISBN 9780367197872. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Chakrabarti, Kaustav (March 2017). ""Revisiting the Educational and Literacy Activities among the Jewish Women of Calcutta"". International Journal of Social Science Studies. 5 (3): 25–50. doi:10.11114/ijsss.v5i3.2241 – via HeinOnline.
- ↑ "Miss Regina Guha". The Times of India. 23 August 1919. ProQuest 311117918.
- ↑ "Special Bench: In the Matter of Regina Guha". Calcutta Law Journal. XXIV: 382–400. 1916. Retrieved 19 April 2026.
- 1 2 जैन, Arvind Jain अरविंद (12 June 2019). "No place for women in temples of justice". Forward Press. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ↑ Mishra, Saurabh Kumar (15 December 2015). "Women in Indian Courts of Law: A Study of Women Legal Professionals in the District Court of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India". E-cadernos CES (24). doi:10.4000/eces.1976. ISSN 1647-0737.
- ↑ Veeraraghavan, A.N. (1972). "Legal Profession and the Advocates Act, 1961". Journal of the Indian Law Institute. 14 (2): 228–262. ISSN 0019-5731. JSTOR 43950131.
- ↑ Manson, Edward; Trevelyan, E. J. (1917). "Notes on Cases". Journal of the Society of Comparative Legislation. 17 (1/2): 268–278. ISSN 1479-5973. JSTOR 752258.