List of High Courts in India
India is the largest democracy in the world and just like any other democracy Indian democracy is also divided into three parts Legislature, executive, and judiciary. This three-part is very important for any democracy. In the Indian judiciary, there are courts at three levels. One at the district level other at the state level, and last one at the national level.
The court at the district level is known as the district court, and the court responsible for the state level is known as the High court and at last, the court that handles the work at the national level is known as the Supreme Court. In this article, we are going to discuss briefly high courts in India.
Appointment of Judges of the high court
The process of Appointment of Judges of the high court is very simple. The President of India decides who will be judges of the high court and also he is the only person who decides who will be the Chief Justice of the High Court but The President of India have the right to take advice from the governor of the state and chief justice of India about these appointments.
Qualifications of Judges of the high court
- You must be an Indian citizen,
- you must be under the age of 62,
- At least ten years of experience as a High Court Advocate,
- Or must be a judge at district court at least 10 years
Oath of Judges of the high court
If you are appointed as the judge of the high court then you have to take oath in front of the governor of the state, sometimes it is also possible that the governor can send some other person in place of himself.
Salary of judges of the high court
Chief justice of high courts gets 2,50,000 rupees per month and 34,000 per month as Sumptuary Allowance. On the other hand judges of high courts get 2,25,000 rupees per month and 27,000 per month as Sumptuary Allowance.
The total strength of judges in the high court
The Constitution of India does not specify how many judges will be in a High Court. The President of India decides how many judges will be in a High Court but there is a chef justice in every high court.
High Court Judges Tenure
It is not written anywhere that what will be the tenure of the High Court judge.
- If a person is a judge of the High Court, then he can remain a judge till the age of 62 years.
- He can also give his resignation to the president of India.
- At the suggestion of the Parliament, the President has the power to remove high court judges from his office.
- When any judge of the high court is appointed as a Supreme Court judge or transferred to another High court then he has the power to vacate his office.
Power of the high court
- High courts have the right to issue writs like mandamus, habeas corpus, certiorari, prohibition, and quo-warrento. This is written in Article 226.
- High courts are superior to Subordinate Courts that’s why high courts have Control over Subordinate Courts.
- High courts have the right to hear both criminal and civil matters.
- The High court has also the power to hear the matter of contempt of court.
- High courts have the power to listen to matters related to the collection of revenue
List of high courts in India
Today in India there is a total of 25 high courts. Some states have their own high court but some states and union territories have a common high court. Before 1956, in our constitution, there is written that every state has their own high court but the seventh Amendment Act which is come in 1956 gave the right to parliament to create a high court which is common for two or more than two states and also for a union territory.
1) The Calcutta High Court
Even after the name of Calcutta changed to Kolkata in 2001. The name of the high court is the same as the previous name “Calcutta High Court“. The jurisdiction of this high court is on one state and at one union territory and bench at Port Blair. This high court was constituted under the Indian High Courts Act of 1861. Also, it is the oldest court in India.
Territorial Jurisdiction = West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Year of establishment = 01-07-1862
Seat= Kolkata
2) The Bombay High Court
This high court was also constituted under the Indian High Courts Act of 1861. In 1995 Bombay’s name was changed to Mumbai but the name of the high court was not changed. The Jurisdiction of this high court is on two states and two union territories. And benches at Panaji, Aurangabad and Nagpur.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu.
Year of establishment = 1862
Seat = Mumbai
3) The Madras High Court
Under High Courts Act, 1861, the Madras High Court was established with Territorial Jurisdiction on one state and one union territory. Like Calcutta and Bombay High Court name of madras high court is also not changed.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
Year of establishment = 1862
Seat = Chennai
4) The Sikkim High Court
This high court was the result of the 36th Amendment in the Indian constitution having Territorial Jurisdiction only on one state.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Sikkim
Year of establishment = 1975
Seat = Gangtok
5) The Rajasthan High Court
This high court was constituted under the Rajasthan High Court Ordinance of 1949. It has jurisdiction over the state of Rajasthan and its bench is at Jaipur.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Rajasthan
Year of establishment = 1949
Seat = Jodhpur
6) Haryana High Court and Punjab high court
This high court is a common high court for two states and one union territory. It has Jurisdiction over the state of Haryana, the state of Punjab, and the union territory of Chandigarh. Before the Punjab and Haryana, the High Court name of this high court was Punjab High Court and the name of this high court was changed in 1966. This high court was constituted under the Punjab High Court Ordinance of 1947.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh
Year of establishment = 1875
Seat = Chandigarh
7) The Patna High Court
This high court is for the state of Bihar and its territorial Jurisdiction is on Bihar state only.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Bihar
Year of establishment = 1916
Seat = Patna
8) The Orissa High Court
This high court was constituted under the Orissa High Court Ordinance of 1948. Even the name of Orissa is changed to Odisha but the name of the high court is not changed.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Odisha
Year of establishment = 1948
Seat = Cuttack
9) The Madhya Pradesh High Court
This high court was also constituted under the Government of India Act of 1935 and bench at Indore and Gwalior. Firstly On January 2, 1936, it was founded as the Nagpur High Court but in 1956 the name of the high court was changed toMadhya Pradesh High Court.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Madhya Pradesh
Year of establishment = 1956
Seat = Jabalpur
10) The Guwahati High Court
This high court was constituted under the Government of India Act of 1935. The jurisdiction of this high court is on four states. Before the Guwahati High Court, the name of this court was Assam High Court and the name of this court was changed in 1971.
Territorial Jurisdiction = 4 states (Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh)
Year of establishment = 1948
Seat = Guwahati
11) The Delhi High Court
In India, there are eight union territories out of eight only Delhi has its high court despite being a union territory. This high court was constituted under the Delhi High Court Act of 1966. Its jurisdiction is on Delhi only.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Delhi
Year of establishment = 1966
Seat = Delhi
12) The Telangana High Court
This high court was also constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014. Like the Andhra Pradesh High Court, this high court is also the newest high court in India having Jurisdiction in the state of Telangana.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Telangana
Year of establishment =1 January 2019
Seat = Hyderabad
13) The Tripura High Court
Territorial Jurisdiction = Tripura
Year of establishment = 23 March 2013
Seat = Agartala
14) The Allahabad High Court
This high court was constituted under the Indian High Courts Act of 1861 and its
Jurisdiction is on Uttar Pradesh and its bench is at Lucknow.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Uttar Pradesh
Year of establishment =1866
Seat = Allahabad
15) The Kerala High Court
This is the common high court for one state and one union territory. It was constituted under the States Reorganisation Act of 1956.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Kerala and Lakshadweep
Year of establishment = 1958
Seat = Ernakulam
16) The Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court was constituted under the Mysore High Court Act of 1884 and jurisdiction is on the state of Karnataka and the bench is at Dharwad. The early name of Karnataka High Court was Mysore High Court but in 1973 the name of this high court was changed.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Karnataka
Year of establishment= 1884
Seat = Bengaluru
17) The Jammu and Kashmir High Court
This high court is also a common high court for one state and one union territory.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
Year of establishment =1928
Seat = Srinagar and Jammu
18) The Himachal Pradesh High Court
This high court was constituted under the State of Himachal Pradesh Act of 1970. Its Jurisdiction is only on one state; Himachal Pradesh.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Himachal Pradesh
Year of establishment = 1971
Seat= Simla
19) The Gujarat High Court
The Gujarat High Court is one of India’s High Courts. This high court was constituted under the Bombay Reorganisation Act of 1960.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Gujarat
Year of establishment = 1960
Seat = Ahmedabad
20) The Chhattisgarh High Court
The Chhattisgarh High Court is one of India’s most recent High Courts. This high court was constituted under the Madhya Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2000. The jurisdiction of this high court is on one state.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Chhattisgarh
Year of establishment = 2000
Seat = Bilaspur
21) The Manipur High Court
Manipur high court and Meghalaya High Court both are constituted under the North-Eastern Areas and other Related Laws Act of 2012. The jurisdiction of this high court is on one state.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Manipur
Year of establishment = 2013
Seat = Imphal
22) The Meghalaya High Court
Territorial Jurisdiction = Meghalaya
Year of establishment = 2013
Seat= Shilong
23) The Jharkhand High Court
The Jharkhand High Court is one of India’s most recent High Courts. This high court was constituted under the Bihar Reorganisation Act of 2000. The jurisdiction of this high court is also on one state.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Jharkhand
Year of establishment =2000
Seat= Ranchi
24) The Uttarakhand High Court
Like Jharkhand high court this high court is also one of India’s most recent High Courts. This high court was constituted under the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2000.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Uttarakhand
Year of establishment =2000
Seat = Nainital
25) The Andhra Pradesh High Court
This high court was constituted under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014 and the jurisdiction of this high court is on one state.
Territorial Jurisdiction = Andhra Pradesh
Year of establishment = 1 January 2019
Seat = Amravati