High Courts In INDIA

( Total Number of High Courts in INDIA , Composition, Judges and Power )

Farjana Akter
LLB , 1st SEMESTER
Reg No:12202691
LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY
ABSTRACT
The highest court in a state is known as the High Court. Each State of India shall have one High
Court, as stated in Article 214. However, Article 231 also stipulates that two or more States and a
Union Territory, may have a common High Court. The provisions of the High Courts in India are
covered under Articles 214 to 231 of the Indian Constitution. There are currently 25 High Courts
in India, and six that are governed by several States or UTs. Delhi has a High Court of its own,
making it a Union Territory. A Chief Justice and other justices are required to be appointed by
the President of India for each High Court. Judges are appointed in accordance with Article 217.
Judges of the High Court can be removed, nonetheless, according to a certain process.

INTRODUCTION
In every state and union territory of India, the High Court of India is the top court with appellate
authority. The Indian judicial system is a type of integrated system of law. Courts are arranged in
a hierarchy. The Supreme Court of India is at the top, and the High Courts work under the
Supreme Court. If expressly stated by the Constitution, State legislation, or Union legislation,
High Courts may have initial jurisdiction over some cases. High copurt oversees a state's many
inferior courts. Appeals from lower courts and writ petitions filed in accordance with Articles
226 and 227 of the Constitution make up the majority of the High Court's workload. The oldest
High Court in India is the Calcutta High Court, which was founded in 1862. In the same year, the
high courts in Bombay and Madras were also formed. The Telangana Court and the Andhra
Pradesh High Court, both of which were founded in 2019, are the two newest High Courts.
Unlike the Supreme Court, the President of India determines the number of justices for high
courts rather than Parliament. Every state in India has a High Court, according to the
Constitution.
CREATION OF HIGH COURT

The Indian High Court Act of 1861

The Crown was given permission by an act of the British Parliament to establish High Courts in
Indian colonies. By letters patent, Queen Victoria established the High Courts at Calcutta,
Madras, and Bombay in 1862. These High Courts would later serve as the model for High Courts
in contemporary Bangladesh, Pakistan, and India. The Act, which consolidated the competing
legal frameworks of the Crown and the East India Company, was passed following the Indian
Rebellion of 1857.

KEYWORDS RELATED TO HIGH COURTS IN INDIA

Tribunal – Regardless of whether it has the word "tribunal" in its name, anyone operating in a
judicial capacity is referred to as a tribunal. A lawyer presenting before a court with only one
judge present, for instance, could refer to that judge as "their tribunal."

Permanent Bench – One or more High Court judges serve on a permanent bench, which is
made up of individuals who sit all year long in a location other than the High Court's permanent
seat.

Circuit Bench –A circuit bench is used in remote regions when there aren't enough cases to
warrant a full-fledged permanent bench. As a result, a few justices visit certain regions once or
twice a year to decide all of the High Court appeals from that region.

Division Bench – At least two judges hear and decide a case on a division bench.

Full Bench – A court of law with more judges than usual is referred to as having a full bench.
TOTAL NUMBER OF HIGH COURTS INDIA

In India, there are 25 high courts in all. Below is a list of all state and union territory high courts,
along with their founding year:

List of High Courts in India

Name Year Territorial Seat and Bench

Jurisdiction

Kolkata 1862 West Bengal, Andman & Kolkata ( Bench of port Blair)
Nicobar Islands

Bombay 1862 Maharastra, Dadar, & Nagar Mumbai (Bench at Panaji,

Haveli. Goa, Daman Diu Aurangabad and Nagpur)

Chennai 1862 Tamil Nadu & Pondicherry Chennai (Bench at Madurai)

Allahabad 1866 Utter Pradesh Allahabad (Bench at

Lucknow)

Karnataka 1884 Karnataka Bengaluru (Bench at Dharwad

and Gulbarga)

Patna 1916 Bihar Patna

Jammu & 1928 Jammu & Kashmir Sri Nagar & Jammu
Kashmir
Punjab & 1947 Punjab, Haryana , Chandigarh Chandigarh
Haryana

Guwahati 1948 Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Guwahati (Bench at Kohima,

Arunachal Pradesh Aizawl and Itanagar

Orissa 1948 Orissa Cuttack

Rajasthan 1949 Rajasthan Jodhpur ( Bench – Jaipur)

Madhya Pradesh 1956 Madhya Pradesh Jabalpur (Bench –Indore ,

Gwalior)

Kerala 1958 Kerala & Lakshadweep Ernakulam

Gujarat 1960 Gujarat Ahmedabad

Delhi 1966 Delhi Delhi

Himachal 1966 Himachal Pradesh Shimla

Pradesh

Sikkim 1975 Sikkim Gangtok

Chhattisgarh 2000 Chhattisgarh Bilaspur

Uttarakhand 2000 Uttarakhand Nainital

Jharkhand 2000 Jharkhand Ranchi

Tripura 2013 Tripura Agartala

Manipur 2013 Manipur Imphal

Meghalaya 2013 Meghalaya Shillong

Andhra Pradesh 2019 Andhra Pradesh Amravati

Telangana 2019 Telangana Hyderabad

COMPOSITION OF HIGH COURT

The Chief Justice of India sits on each High Court of a State or States.
Appoinment of cheif justice
- A Chief Justice is chosen by the President after consulting the state governor.
- The requirements of Article 217 must be followed when a Chief Justice of a High Court
is first appointed. According to section 95 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, the
Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court shall be appointed. The provisions
of Article 222 will apply to Chief Justice transfers between High Courts. According to
clause (1) of Article 222 of the Indian Constitution and Article 222(1A) of the
Constitution (Application to Jammu & Kashmir) Order, 1954, a Chief Justice may be
transferred to and from the Jammu & Kashmir High Court.
- The Chief Justice of India would make the initial proposal for the appointment of the
Chief Justice of a High Court. To guarantee completion at least one month before the date
of anticipated vacancy for the Chief Justice of the High Court, the appointment procedure
 must be started well in advance. When a Chief Justice is transferred from one High Court
to another, the Chief Justice of India will make sure that his successor in office is
appointed simultaneously, and typically, the appointment of an interim Chief Justice will
not be made for more than one month.
- In consultation with the two senior-most Supreme Court judges, the Chief Justice of India
would submit his recommendation for the appointment of a puisne Judge of the High
Court as Chief Justice of that High Court or of another High Court.
- The Supreme Court's most senior colleague, who is familiar with the matters of the High
Court where the recommended has been working and whose opinion is likely to be
important in determining the candidate's suitability, would also be consulted. Whether the
Supreme Court judge who was consulted had that High Court as his or her Parent High
Court or had been transferred there from another High Court is irrelevant. The Chief
Justice of India will then send his suggestion and the opinions of the Supreme Court
Judges thus consulted to the Union Minister of Law, Justice, and Corporate Affairs.

Appointment of acting chief justice

- The Union Minister of Law, Justice, and Corporate Affairs would seek the opinion of the
relevant State Government after receiving the Chief Justice of India's recommendation.
The Union Minister of Law, Justice, and Corporate Affairs will make recommendations
to the Prime Minister after receiving input from the State Government, who will then
counsel the President over the choice.
- The Department of Justice will make the announcement and issue the requisite
notification in the Gazette of India as soon as the President approves the appointment.

Appointment of permanent judges

- According to clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution, the President is responsible for
appointing the Chief Justice and judges of the High Courts. According to section 95 of
the Jammu & Kashmir Constitution, the President is responsible for appointing the judges
of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court. A time-bound timetable should be followed for
making appointments to the High Court so that they are made well in advance, ideally a
month before the predicted vacancy occurs.
- The Chief Justice of the High Court must first propose the appointment of a High Court
judge.
- However, if the Chief Minister wants to suggest a name for someone, he should send it
to the Chief Justice for review.
- A copy of the Chief Justice's suggestion, along with the full set of papers, should be
provided to the Governor at the same time to prevent delay because the Governor is
bound by the advice of the Chief Minister who is in charge of the Council of Ministers.
- To speed up consideration, a copy of it may also be forwarded to the Chief Justice of
India and the Union Minister of Law, Justice, and Corporate Affairs.
- The Chief Minister directed the Governor to submit his suggestion to the Union Minister
of Law, Justice, and Corporate Affairs as soon as practicable, but no later than six weeks
from the day the proposal was received by the Chief Justice of the High Court.
- The Union Minister of Law, Justice, and Corporate Affairs shall assume that the
Governor (i.e. Chief Minister) has nothing further to add to the plan if the comments are
not received within the allotted time frame and act accordingly.
- The Chief Justice of India will transmit his suggestion to the Union Minister of Law,
Justice, and Corporate Affairs over the course of four weeks. All correspondence between
the Chief Justice of India and his colleagues should be done in writing, and the Chief
Justice of India will forward all such correspondence to the Union Minister of Law,
Justice, and Corporate Affairs.
- The Chief Justice of the High Court will request from the candidate (i) a certificate of
physical fitness as in Annexure II signed by a Civil Surgeon or District medical officer
and (ii) a certificate of date of birth as in Annexure III as soon as the President approves
the appointment, according to information provided by the Secretary to the Government
of India in the Department of Justice.
Appointment of Additional judges
- Clause (1) of Article 224 of the Constitution allows the President to appoint additional
judges.
- The State Government must first get the Central Government's approval before creating
these extra posts, if the necessity arises. The standard official form should be used for any
correspondence pertaining to this.
- The process to be followed for appointment will be the same as that described in
paragraphs 12 to 18 for the appointment of a permanent Judge after the position has been
sanctioned, with the exception that an Additional Judge's medical certificate won't be
required.
- The Chief Justice of the High Court in question must additionally send the pertinent
documents listed in para. 13 above along with the recommendation when an Additional
Judge is being considered for confirmation as an Additional Judge for a new term.
- In contrast, the Chief Justice of the High Court should not suggest the appointment of an
Additional Judge while a permanent vacancy exists in that High Court.

Appointment of additional judges

- The President may appoint acting judges in accordance with Article 224, paragraph (2) of
the Constitution.
- These appointments won't be scheduled, nevertheless, for durations shorter than three
months unless there are exceptional circumstances.
- The identical process outlined in paragraphs 12 to 18 for the appointment of a permanent
Judge will be used when the need arises to make such an appointment, with the exception
that the Acting Judge will not need to provide a medical certificate.
- For obvious reasons, bar members shouldn't often be recommended for appointment as
acting judges.

Transfer of judge from one high court to another

Judges may be transferred from one high court to another in accordance with Article 222, which
allows the President to do so after consulting with the Chief Justice of India. Additionally, when
a judge is transferred or has been transferred, he must act as a judge of the other high court for
the duration of his tenure after the constitution's inception. As a result, he is entitled to receive, in
addition to his salary, any compensatory allowance that Parliament may determine by law and,
up until that time, any compensatory allowance that the President may fix by order.
Later, in 1977, the K. Ashok Reddy case determined that court review is necessary in cases of
arbitrarily transferring judges. Therefore, only the judge who is transferred can raise a locus
standi objection.

QUALIFICATION OF JUDGES
A candidate for appointment as a High Court judge must meet the requirements listed below:
- He must be an Indian national.
- He ought to have ten years of judicial experience. Or he must have ten years of
experience as a High Court advocate in practise.
- There is no set age restriction for the selection of High Court judges.
- However, unlike the Supreme Court, no distinguished jurist is qualified to serve as a
judge in the High Court.

TENURE OF HIGH COURT JUDGES

- High Court judges are in office until they are 62 years old.
- A High Court judge resigns and submits a letter of resignation to the President.
- Any High Court judge may be removed by the President if he so chooses and on the
advice of the legislature.
- A High Court judge is said to resign from his position when he is elevated to the Supreme
Court or transferred to another High Court.
SALARY OF HIGH COURT JUDGES
The monthly salary of a High Court Chief Justice is Rs. 90,000. The monthly salary of the other
judges is Rs. 85,000.
- Judges' compensation is outlined in Article 221 as follows: "The judges of each High
court must be paid such salaries as may be set by the Parliament by legislation and, until
such time as such provision is so made, such salaries as are indicated in the second
schedule."
- Every judge is entitled to the allowances and pension rights set forth in the second
schedule, as well as any other allowances and pension rights that may from time to time
be established by or pursuant to legislation passed by the parliament.
- Additionally, the Consolidated Fund of India is billed for their pension. the High Court
judges' wages and benefits are governed by the High Court judges (condition of service)
Act, 1954. A staff car is a privilege of the judge. He is entitled to compensation if the
State Government fails to give him a staff automobile. However, the reimbursement is
merely a temporary solution and is not a staff car replacement.

REMOVAL PROCEDURES FOR JUDGES

The High Court judges' removal or impeachment is governed by the Judge's Enquiry Act.
Consequently, the reasons for removal are
- Demonstrated misbehavior
- Disability
According to the removal order passed by each house of parliament with a special majority, or a
majority of the entire membership of the house and not less than two thirds of members present
and voting, he is removed by the President. The detailed process is discussed below:
- The original removal motion must be signed by 50 Rajya Sabha members or 100 Lok
Sabha members, and it must be delivered to the speaker or house chairman.
- The motion may be approved or disapproved by the speaker.
- If approved, a committee would be formed to look into the situation.
- The members of the committee as it has been constituted are a renowned jurist, the top
justice of the high court, and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
- If the committee finds the judge to be guilty, the issue is brought before the houses.
 - The motion is then brought to the President for his approval if it receives a special
majority vote in each house of the legislature.
- The President then issues an executive order to remove the judge. The judge is regarded
as no longer in office that day. In actuality, no judge has been expelled thus far.

POWERS AND JURISDICTION OF THE HIGH COURT

The following categories can be used to group the High Court's authority and jurisdiction:

1) Original Jurisdiction
This refers to the applicant's ability to approach the High Court without first filing an appeal. The
following situations call for the application of this power:
- Conflicts involving members of the state legislature and the parliament.
- Concerning divorce, law, contempt of court, and marriage
- Protection of essential rights (Supreme Court also has this power)
- Cases that have been transferred from another court to this one and have a legal issue.

2) Appellate jurisdiction
The High Courts' appellate jurisdiction includes the following:
- If there is at least Rs. 5000 at stake in the case, the High Court would hear an appeal in a
civil matter.
- In criminal matters, the appeal in which the offender has been given a four-year prison
sentence by the Sessions Judge is heard by the High Court.
- The High Court must first approve the Sessions Judge's decision to sentence someone to
death.
- Cases involving constitutional or legal interpretation are heard by the High Court.
- Cases involving income tax, sales tax, etc. are heard by the High Court.

3)Writ jurisdiction
According to Article 226 of the Constitution, the High Court has the ability to issue orders, writs,
or directives to any person or authority within the regions over which it has jurisdiction,
including any government when appropriate.
4) The ability of Superintendence
With the exception of those dealing with the armed forces deployed by the state, the High Court
has this authority over all courts and tribunals. Therefore, in using this power, it may :
- Demand a response from such courts
- May establish general guidelines and form requirements for governing the conduct of
such courts' proceedings.
- Specify the manner in which any court's officers must maintain their books and accounts.
- Resolve costs owed to the sheriff's officers, clerks, and attorneys.
This authority to oversee the lower courts is unrestricted by the constitution and may be
exercised suo moto as well as by personal appeal. Since it validates the earlier rulings, it is of the
nature of modification. This is because the Supreme Court does not have the same authority as
the High Court, making it a distinctive function.

5) Control over inferior court

The aforesaid supervisory and appellate jurisdiction is expanded by this. It says that if a matter
involves a significant legal question, the High Court may withdraw it from any subordinate
court. The matter may be resolved on its own or resolve the legal issue and be brought back
before the same court. The High Court's submission of an opinion in the second instance would
bind the lower court. It also covers issues relating to the advancement of the posting, the granting
of leave, the transfer, and the punishment of the members therein. In this regard, it names
officials and staff who are to be appointed by the Chief Justice or another High Court judge as
the Chief Justice may specify.

6) Court of record
This entails documenting high court decisions, hearings, and acts so they can be preserved in
perpetuity. These documents cannot be contested further in any court. It has the authority to
impose a fine, a single sentence of jail, or a combination of both penalties for contempt of court
based on this record.
7) Judicial Review
This authority of the High Court also extends to the ability to judge whether state and federal
legislative and executive directives are lawful. It should be emphasised that although our
constitution makes no mention of the term "judicial review," Articles 13 and 226 specifically
grant the High Court this authority.

8) Extending the High Court's authority to Union Territories

Any union territory may be included in or excluded from the High Court's jurisdiction by law,
according to the legislature.

CONCLUSION
In every Indian state and union territory, the high courts have appellate authority at the highest
level. Only in cases where the lower courts lack legal authorization do the high courts exercise
their original civil and criminal jurisdiction. According to Article 217 of the constitution, the
president of India appoints judges for high courts after consulting with the chief justice and the
governor of the state. In accordance with articles 226 and 227 of the Indian polity and
constitution, writ petitions and appeals from subordinate courts make up the majority of the work
done by high courts in India. From state to state, differences exist in the number of judges. They
are chosen by the President. The President may order their removal early if both Houses of
Parliament request it. It has both appellate and original jurisdiction. It is in charge of defending
fundamental rights. It can punish for contempt and is a court of record.Subordinate civil, family,
criminal, and revenue courts are located in each district. The High Court of the State hears
appeals against rulings from subordinate courts.
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The constitutional law of India, DR.J.N PANDEY
CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF INDIA, K.C. JOSHI
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ndia.html
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