Calcutta High Court and the Ghost Seeking Justice

The sound of anklets is heard throughout the old building of Calcutta High Court, thought to be the ghost of a woman who is still seeking justice in her afterlife.

In Kolkata, lies the imposing edifice of Calcutta High Court in its red colored colonial architecture. While by day it’s suppose to serve as a symbol of justice and legal proceedings, by night, whispers abound of spectral apparitions and eerie phenomena that haunt its corridors.

Read more: Check out all of the ghost stories from India

The building was built in 1872, ten years after the court itself was established. Calcutta High Court is the oldest high court in India. Among the most chilling tales is that of the ghosts of convicts, their restless spirits lingering within the court’s walls, the story about the ghost of the woman wearing anklets is looming larger than the rest.

File:Calcutta High Court 01.jpg — **Calcutta High Court**: With its recognizable red building, the Calcutta High Court is thought to be haunted and is said to house more than one ghost. //Source: Wikimedia

The Headless Woman Haunting Calcutta High Court

Among these tormented spirits, none are more feared than the ghost of a convict who met her fate at the gallows. Legend has it that her execution was a spectacle witnessed by scores of onlookers. In death, her presence lingers, her restless spirit haunting the very courtroom where his fate was sealed.

Witnesses who venture into Calcutta High Court after dark speak of chilling encounters with the convict’s ghost. Most stories come from those that have worked at the court for years. Some claim to have heard his disembodied cries echoing through the empty corridors, while others swear they’ve seen his phantom form lurking in the shadows.

Perhaps most notably is the sound of her steps, as you can hear the sound of her ankle bracelets as she walks down the corridors. When they see her though, they see that she is missing her head.

There is one story told from two people that worked at the court, Manamohan and Vajahari Paitandi. It was a winter night and they were working later than the rest. Manamohan went to the toilet that was at the end of a long and dark corridor. That is when he heard the sound of the ankle bracelets.

When Vajahari went to find his college, he found him lying on the floor. A woman was sitting beside him, trying to wake him by splashing water in his face. It was the headless ghost and she just disappeared when Vajahari came closer. He managed to wake him and together they ran out of the place.

The Prostitute Seeking Justice

File:Calcutta High Court inside views 03.jpg — **Haunted Hallways:** Several of the staff members claim to have seen the ghost of the headless woman haunting the halls. //Source: Wikimedia

But who was this woman who was haunting the halls without her head? If we are to believe the stories, she was a prostitute named Nistar Raut. She wanted to start fresh and remove her name from the registered sex workers.

She had fallen in love with Shalikhram, a businessman dealing with diamonds and wanted to marry him. The judges of the court didn’t like this though, as she was a beautiful woman. They didn’t want to lose access to her and the men tried to talk her out of it. She refused though and they turned their eye on Shalikhram.

He too refused to listen to them and one of her former clients, a very influential man, accused the couple for a robbery and he was arrested in 1881.

What really happened after this is a bit of a mystery. The police found Nistar’s body after a few days in the garden of her lover with her head cut off. She wore nothing except for her ankle bracelets.

After this, it is said that her ghost is still roaming the court that denied her the life that she wanted for herself.

The Ghost Looking for Water

But the headless woman is not the only ghost said to haunt Calcutta High Court. From the eerie sound of rattling chains to inexplicable cold drafts that chill the air, countless reports of paranormal activity have fueled the court’s reputation as a hotbed of supernatural phenomena.

Another ghost said to roam is the 19th century poet Tapis. He had protested against the British East India Company and the oppression the Indian people faced under colonial rule. He was imprisoned and denied water and food for a long time.

He was eventually executed after a long time without anything to drink. After his death, the rumor about him haunting the court started to spread where they said that the ghost of Tapis was searching for water.

The Haunted Room No. 11 at Calcutta High Court

The haunting is said to happen around the whole court, but is especially concentrated inside of a particular room. Room No. 11 has over the years seen many convicts receiving the death sentence.

Both notorious criminals and Indian revolutionaries are said to have been walked through a secret tunnel below the room to court and there are many people that claim that something paranormal is happening both inside as well as outside of the room.

Policemen on duty don’t want to be put on guard outside of Room 11, some claiming to have seen the ghosts of prisoners sitting on the benches outside and walking in the corridors.

So, the next time you find yourself near Calcutta High Court after dusk falls and the city sleeps, tread carefully and listen closely—for you may just hear the whispers of the convicts’ ghosts, their tales of sorrow and despair echoing through the hallowed halls of justice.