Perry was admitted to
Lincoln's Inn in 1827 before moving to the
Inner Temple in 1832. He was
called to the bar in 1834 and worked as a law reporter. He was appointed to serve as a judge of the
supreme court in
Bombay and was
knighted in February 1841. He served as chief justice from 1847 to 1852, and he was president of the Indian board of education for ten years. He also lectured on law outside of court, and his support for educational and employment opportunities for Indians meant a professorship, the Perry Professorship of
Jurisprudence, at the
Government Law School at
Elphinstone was established in 1855 in his honour. He translated
Friedrich Carl von Savigny's work on
Roman law. After returning to England, Perry stood for
Liverpool in the
1853 by-election. Again unsuccessful, he gained the seat of
Devonport in
1854. He spoke in the
House of Commons on the
East India Company's rule in India and property rights for married women. He left parliament in 1859 following his appointment to the
Council of India, on which he served until 1882. After falling ill and being unable to be sworn of the
Privy Council, Perry died in 1882 in London. ==Works==