High Courts

The high court is the highest judicial court in a state. After the Supreme Court, it is the second most important court in India. Presently, there are 25 high courts in the country, with a few states sharing a common high court. High courts were recommended in 1858 by the Law Commission, and in 1861, the parliament issued the Indian High Courts Act. This act suggested putting up High Courts instead of the three supreme courts in 3 presidencies, namely Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. The charter for the High Court of Calcutta was passed in May 1862, and that of Bombay and Madras in June 1862. Thus, the Calcutta High Court is the oldest high court in the country. 

The Indian High Courts Act was implemented to establish an independent judiciary body for every state in India. Thus, the British Government repealed the pre-existent Supreme Court and Sadar Adalat and built high courts in their place. The act also established specific rules and eligibility criteria for the appointment of judges in the courts. After independence, as per Article 214 of the constitution of India, every Indian state needs to have its high court. One must keep in mind that the country’s entire legal system changed once the country achieved independence, which also includes the working of the high courts. 

The Constitution of the High Courts

The answer to how many high courts there are in India is 25 high courts. Andhra Pradesh is the newest state to have its own high court, with it being established on 1st January 2019. Under British rule, it was decided that every high court must have one chief justice, along with a maximum of 15 other judges.  However, a few changes were made to this rule later, including:

• The chief justice of the high court has to be appointed by the President. 

• There is no fixed number to how many judges can be appointed to every high court. 

• Additional judges can be appointed to clarify cases that are pending. However, their tenure has to be a maximum of 2 years.

Appointment of the High Court Judges

The President of India appoints a judge of the high court, but he can seek the advice of the Governor of the State, the acting Chief Justice of India, and the present Chief Justice of that high court. The judge may get transferred to other states under the decision of the Chief Justice to ensure that every case is fought fair and freely. There are a few mandatory eligibility criteria for the high court judge, including:

• They must have any of the following qualifications: they must have been a barrister for more than five years, or they must have been a civil servant for more than 10 years with an experience in serving in a Zila Parishad for at least 3 years, or they must have been a pleader for more than 10 years in any high court. 

• The judge must not be more than 62 years of age. 

Currently, the list of high courts in India stands at 25.

High Court Jurisdiction

The high court is the highest court in the state that has been given the power to interpret the Constitution. It acts as a protector of the fundamental rights of the citizens of the country. They also have consultative and supervisory roles. One must keep in mind that the constitution does not specify any details regarding the powers and jurisdiction of the high court. However, one can divide the jurisdiction of the high courts into the following categories:

• Original jurisdiction: Under this category, one can directly go to the high court with their case and will not have to raise an appeal beforehand. It is mostly relevant for cases related to the State Legislative Assembly, marriages, and enforcement of fundamental rights.

• Power of superintendence: A special power enjoyed by the high courts, it is the right to order its subordinate courts and offices a way to maintain records, settle fees paid to legal practitioners, and prescribe rules to hold proceedings in court.

• Court of record: High courts can record its judgements, proceedings and acts for perpetual memory, and it can not be questioned by any other court. 

• Control over Subordinate Courts: The high courts can withdraw any pending case from their subordinate courts if it involves the substantial question of law. The high court can solve the question of law and return the case to the court.

• Appellate Jurisdiction: It is for cases where people have raised an issue with the judgement given by a subordinate court of the territory. This power can further be divided into:

1. Civil jurisdiction: it involves judgements of a subordinate court, civil court, or district court. 

2. Criminal jurisdiction: it involves the judgements of sessions and additional sessions court.

• Power of Judicial Review: The high courts can examine the legislative and executive orders of the central and state governments for their constitutionality. The “judicial review” word is not mentioned in the constitution, but Articles 13 and 226 explicitly give high courts this power.

• Writ Jurisdiction of High Court: Article 226 of the Indian constitution gives high courts the authority to publish writs that include habeas corpus, mandamus, certiorari, prohibition, and quo warranto to enforce fundamental rights.

Conclusion

For candidates who have been preparing for the IIT-JEE (Advanced) entrance examination, the high courts can fall amongst one of the most essential topics in the syllabus. These notes can prove to be quite valuable for other competitive exams, such as banking PO, SSC, and so on. You can go through the vast range of study materials available at Unacademy to get a thorough understanding of all critical topics.