List of High Courts in India: Location, Establishment Year and Seat

List of High Courts in India: High courts operate below the Supreme Court but above the Subordinate Court in the Indian single-integrated judicial system. The judiciary in a state consists of a high court and a hierarchy of subordinate courts. The High Court occupies the top position in the judicial administration of a state. Currently, India has 25 high courts established in different states of the country.

Read below this comprehensive article to learn about the Total List of High Courts of India, their history, how appointments are made, removal and transfer procedures, and jurisdiction and powers.

High Courts of India

High Courts in India

• There are a total of 25 High Courts in India.

• The Calcutta High Court, which was established in 1862, is the oldest in India, followed by the Bombay and Madras High Courts, which were established in the same year.

• The High Court of a state refers to the highest court of the state and all other courts of the state that are working under it. One High Court in every state is there, but there can be only one High Court for two or more states as well, according to the Indian Constitution, Article 231.

List of High Courts in India

The total number of high courts in India is 25. The list of the High Courts for all states as well as union territories with established years are given below:

SN.	Name	Year of Establishment	Territorial Jurisdiction	Seat
1	Allahabad	1866	Uttar Pradesh	Allahabad( Bench at Lucknow)
2	Andhra Pradesh	2019	Andhra Pradesh	Amaravati
3	Bombay	1862	Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	Mumbai (Benches at Nagpur, Panaji , Aurangabad)
4	Calcutta	1862	West Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands	Kolkata(Circuit Bench at Port Blair)
5	Chattisgarh	2000	Chattisgarh	Bilaspur
6	Delhi	1966	Delhi	Delhi
7	Guwahati	1948	Assam , Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh	Guwahati (Benches at Kohima,Aizawl and Itanagr)
8	Gujarat	1960	Gujarat	Ahmedabad
9	Himachal Pradesh	1971	Himachal Pradesh	Simla
10	Jammu and Kashmir	1928	Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh	Srinagar and Jammu
11	Jharkhand	2000	Jharkhand	Ranchi
12	Karnataka	1884	Karantaka	Bengaluru
13	Kerala	1956	Kerala and Lakshadweep	Ernakulam
14	Madhya Pradesh	1956	Madhya Pradesh	Jabalpur (Benches at Gwalior and Indore)
15	Madras	1862	Tamilnadu and Puducherry	Chennai
16	Manipur	2013	Manipur	Imphal
17	Meghalaya	2013	Meghalaya	Shillong
18	Orissa	1948	Odisha	Cuttack
19	Patna	1916	Bihar	Patna
20	Punjab and Haryana	1875	Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh	Chandigarh
21	Rajasthan	1949	Rajasthan	Jodhpur(Bench at Jaipur)
22	Sikkim	1975	Sikkim	Gangtok
23	Telangana	1954	Telangana	Hyderabad
24	Tripura	2013	Tripura	Agartala
25	Uttarakhand	2000	Uttarakhand	Nainital

History and Constitutional Provisions

Brief History of High Courts of India

• The institution of the High Court originated in India in 1862, when the high courts were set up at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras.
• In 1866, a fourth high court was established at Allahabad.
• Each province in British India came to have its own high court.
• After 1950, a high court existing in a province became the high court for the corresponding state.

Constitutional Provisions of High Courts of India

• The Constitution of India provides for a high court for each state, but the Seventh Amendment Act of 1956 authorized the Parliament to establish a common high court for two or more states or for two or more states and a union territory.
• Articles 214 to 231 in Part VI of the Constitution deal with the organization, independence, jurisdiction, powers, procedures, and so on of the high courts.
• At present, there are 25 high courts in the country. Out of them, only three high courts have jurisdiction over more than one state.

Composition and Appointment

Composition of High Courts of India

The composition of the High Court in India is as follows:

• Each High Court in India consists of a Chief Justice.
• Other judges, as the president may from time to time deem necessary to appoint,.

The Constitution does not specify the strength of a high court and leaves it to the discretion of the president. Accordingly, the President determines the strength of a high court from time to time, depending on its workload.

Appointment of Judges

• The judges of a high court in India are appointed by the president.
• The Chief Justice is appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the governor of the state concerned.
• For the appointment of judges, the chief justice of the concerned high court is also consulted.
• In the case of a common high court for two or more states, the governors of all the states concerned are consulted by the President.

Qualification, Oath, and Salaries

Qualification of Judges in of a High Court of India

A person to be appointed as a judge of a high court should have the following qualifications:

1. He should be a citizen of India.
2. He should have held a judicial office in the territory of India for ten years, or he should have been an advocate of the high court for ten years.

Note: The Constitution has not prescribed the minimum age for appointment as a judge of the high court.

Oath or Affirmation to Be followed by Judge of High Court of India

A person appointed as a judge of high court, before entering upon his office, has to make and subscribe an oath or affirmation before the governor of the state or some person appointed by him for this purpose. In his oath, a judge of the high court swears:

1. to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India;
2. to uphold the sovereignty and integrity of India;
3. to duly and faithfully and to the best of his ability, knowledge, and judgement, perform the duties of the office without fear, favor, affection, or ill-will; and
4. to uphold the Constitution and the laws.

Salaries or allowances of judges of High Court of India

• The salaries, allowances, privileges, leave, and pension of the judges of the high court are determined from time to time by the Parliament of India.
• In 2018, the salary of the chief justice was increased from ₹ 90,000 to ₹2.50 lac per month. and that of a judge from ₹80,000 to 2.25 lac per month.
• The salaries and allowances of judges cannot be varied to their disadvantage after their appointment, except during a financial emergency.

Tenure, Removal, and Transfer of a Judge in India

Tenure of Judges

The Constitution has not fixed the tenure of a judge of a high court. However, it makes the following four provisions in this regard:

• He holds his office until he attains the age of 62.
• He can resign his office by writing to the president.
• He can be removed from his office by the President on the recommendation of Parliament.
• He vacates his office when he is appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court or when he is transferred to another high court.

Removal of Judges

• A judge of the high court can be removed from his office by order of the president.
• The grounds for removal are two: proved misbehavior or incapacity.
• Parliament must have passed the resolution for the removal of the judge by a special majority.
• The impeachment process of a judge of the high court is the same as that of a judge of the Supreme Court.
• No judge of a high court has been impeached so far.

Transfer of Judges

• The President can transfer a judge from one high court to another after consulting the Chief Justice of India.
• In the Third Judges case, the Supreme Court opined that in cases of the transfer of high court judges, the Chief Justice of India should consult, in addition to the collegium of four seniormost judges of the Supreme Court, the chief justice of the two high courts( one from which the judge is being transferred and the other receiving him).

Jurisdiction and Powers of the High Court

Like the Supreme Court, the high court has been vested with quite extensive and effective powers. It is the highest court of appeal in the state. It is the protector of the fundamental rights of citizens. It is vested with the power to interpret the Constitution. At present, a high court enjoys the following jurisdiction and powers:

1. Original Jurisdiction
2. Writ Jurisdiction
3. Appellate Jurisdiction
4. Supervisory Jurisdiction
5. Control over Subordinate Courts
6. A Court of Record
7. Power of Judicial Review

Original Jurisdiction

It means the power of the high court to hear disputes in first instance, not by way of appeal. It includes:

• Disputes related to the election of MPs and MLAs.
• Regarding revenue matters,.
• Enforcement of the fundamental rights of citizens.

Writ Jurisdiction

• Article 226 of the Indian Constitution empowers a high court to issue writs including habeaus corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and quo warranto for the enforcement of fundamental rights of citizens.
• The writ jurisdiction of the High Court is wider than the writ jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

Appellate Jurisdiction

• A high court is primarily a court of appeals. It hears appeals against the judgments of subordinate courts functioning in its territorial jurisdiction.
• It has appellate jurisdiction in both civil and criminal matters.

Supervisory Jurisdiction

• A high court has the power of superintendence over all courts and tribunals functioning in its territorial jurisdictions.

Control over Subordinate Courts

• In addition to its appellate jurisdiction and supervisory jurisdiction over the subordinate courts, as mentioned above, a high court has administrative control and other powers over them.

A Court of Record

• It means that the judgments, proceedings, and acts of high courts are recorded for perceptual memory and testimony.

Power of Judicial Review

• Judicial review is the power of a high court to examine the constitutionality of legislative enactments and executive orders of both the central and state governments.

Independence of the High Court

The independence of the high court in India is very essential for its effective discharge of the duties assigned to it. It should be free from all the pressures and interferences of the executive and legislature. It should be allowed to do justice without any fear or favor.

The Constitution has made the following provisions to safeguard and ensure the independent and impartial functioning of the high court :

1. Mode of Appointment: The judges are appointed by the President of India, which ensures that the judicial appointments are not based on any political considerations.
2. Security of Tenure: The judges of the high court are provided with security of tenure, which means they can be removed from the office by the president only in the manner and on the grounds mentioned in the Constitution.
3. Expenses Charged on the Consolidated Fund: The salaries and allowances of the judges are charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State, which means that they are non-votable by the state legislature.
4. The conduct of judges cannot be discussed. The Constitution prohibits any discussion in Parliament or the State Legislature with respect to the conduct of the judges of the high court.
5. Freedom to appoint its staff: The Chief Justice of India can appoint officers and servants of the high court without any interference from the executive.
6. Separation from Executive: The Constitution directs the state to take steps to separate the judiciary from the executive in public services.

Conclusion – Total Counts of High Courts of India – Check Here

The High Court is positioned as the top judicial authority in a state. The first high court was set up in Calcutta in 1862 and is considered the oldest of the Bombay and Madras high courts. Currently, there are 25 high courts for each state. In the above article, we have provided a complete list of the high courts of India along with in-depth knowledge of their jurisdiction and powers.

List of High Courts of India – FAQs

1. Which is the newest high court in India?

Andhra Pradesh is the most recent state to have a high court. The High Court was established in Andhra Pradesh on January 1, 2019.

2. Which is the biggest high court in India?

Allahabad High Court is one of the biggest high courts in India.

3. Which is the oldest high court in India?

The Calcutta High Court is the oldest high court, established on July 1, 1862.

4. Which is the smallest high court in India?

The Sikkim High Court is the smallest in India.

5. Which states in India have a common high court?

Chandigarh High Court: Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh

Madras High Court: Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

Jammu and Kashmir High Court: J&K and Ladakh

Guwahati High Court: Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunanchal Pradesh

Calcutta High Court: West Bengal, Andaman, and Nicobar Islands

Bombay High Court: Maharsahta, Goa, Dadra, Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu

6. Which Union Territory has its own high court?

Delhi is the only Union Territory to have its own high court.