He was born to Janakinath Bose and Prabhabati Devi in Cuttack, Odisha on 6 September 1889. Prabhabati Devi was part of the famous Dutt family of Hatkhola in north Kolkata. She gave birth to fourteen children, six daughters and eight sons, among whom were leftist leader Sarat Chandra Bose, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and distinguished cardiologist Dr. Sunil Chandra Bose. Sarat had two elder sisters. They were Pramilabala Mitra and Saralabala Dey. He had an elder brother, Satish Chandra Bose. He had six younger brothers, namely: Suresh Chandra Bose, Sudhir Chandra Bose, Dr. Sunil Chandra Bose, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sailesh Chandra Bose and Santosh Chandra Bose. He had four younger sisters, they were Tarubala Roy, Malina Dutt, Protiva Mitra, and Kanaklata Mitra. Sarat Bose studied in Presidency College, Scottish Church College, then affiliated with the University of Calcutta, and then went to England in 1911 to become a barrister. He was called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn. He began a successful legal practice upon his return to India, but later abandoned it to join the Indian independence movement.
Political career
In 1936, Bose became the President of the BengalPradesh Congress Committee, and served as a member of the All India Congress Committee from 1936 till 1947. Sarat Bose was arrested after the escape of Subhas the day before he was due to join as Cabinet Minister in the Fazlul Haq government. He was moved to jail in Mercara and then Coonoor where his health suffered. He was released in September 1945 after a 4 1/2 year prison sentence. From 1946 to 1947, Bose would lead the Congress delegation to the Central Legislative Assembly. He strongly supported the formation of the Indian National Army by Subhas Bose, and actively participated in the Quit India movement. Following his brother's reported death in 1945, Bose led efforts to provide relief and aid to the families of INA soldiers through the INA Defence and Relief Committee. In 1946, he was appointed Member of the Interim Government for Works, Mines and Powers – the position of a minister in a national executive council led by Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and presided over by the Viceroy of India.
A statue of Sarat Chandra Bose is situated beside Calcutta High Court. In January 2014, Sarat Chandra Bose Memorial Lecture was instituted, and the maiden lecture was delivered by historian of International fame Leonard A. Gordon - who has penned a joint biography of Sarat and his younger brother Subhas, titled Brothers Against The Raj.