A short note on High Court Jurisdiction

The highest judicial court that exists in every state and union territory is the High Court. The provisions concerning the high courts are laid down in Article 214 to Article 237 of the Indian Constitution. The initiation of the High Courts follows the rules and regulations mentioned in Article 214.

Composition

 The High Court in each state consists of a Chief Justice and other young judges. The auxiliary judges are appointed for the dispensation of cases that remain unattended.  Their tenure extends to not more than two consecutive years.

The President of India in consultation with the chief justice of the Supreme Court and the governor of the particular state appoints the Chief Justice of the High Court. The High Court judges are appointed by the President of India where he may seek advice from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Chief Justice of the High Court, and the governor of the concerned state. 

Eligibility

1. The concerned person must be an Indian citizen.
2. The candidate must not be more than 62 years of age.
3. The candidate must have been a judge of the Subordinate court for a term of 10 consecutive years.
4. The candidate must also have been a lawyer in any High Court in India for 10 consecutive years.

The High Court has the following powers and jurisdiction

Original Jurisdiction

1. The type of jurisdiction in which disputes in different matters are generally heard in the first instance other than the way of appeal is called the Original Jurisdiction.
2.  It has a similar jurisdiction to that of the Supreme Court in matters related to the imposition of the fundamental rights of the citizens.
3. It imposes jurisdiction in matters of marriage, will, divorce, company laws, and the disrespect of the court.
4.  Matters related to the election of the MLAs and MPs also come under the original jurisdiction of the High Court.

Writ Jurisdiction

1. The jurisdiction of the High Court where it undertakes power to issue certain privilege writs under Article 266 of the Indian Constitution.
2. Several writs can be issued by the High Court:

Habeas Corpus

 It is a Latin term which means “you must have a body”. The court issues an order to present the detained before the court and to analyze whether the arrest was legal or not.

 Writ of Mandamus

 The term Mandamus refers to “we command”. The court with the help of this writ issues orders or discharges authority to perform the lawful duties which have not been performed or refused to perform.

Writ of Certiorari

 The word Certiorari has been derived from a Latin word that generally means “to be informed”. As per this writ, the high court gets the authority to review the decisions and actions of the lower courts.

Writ of Quo Warranto

 The term Quo Warranto means “by what authority”. This writ orders a person to show under what authority he/she has exercised his/her rights and powers.

Writ of Prohibition

 This writ is issued by a higher administration to the lower authority to abide by their order and curtail any action which is prohibited by the law.

Appellate Jurisdiction

1. This type of jurisdiction is enforced when a complaint regarding the judgment of a subordinate or a lower level court of that particular region has been raised.
2. It is further subdivided into two categories;

• Criminal Jurisdiction.
• Civil Jurisdiction.

The motive behind the execution of the Indian High Courts Act was mainly to establish separate judicial structures or bodies in different states of the country.

Conclusion

Thus, the High Courts have the power to impose writs when the fundamental rights of the citizens are violated. It also establishes authority on the violation of other lawful rights. The High Courts have direct control over the lower level courts and also the tribunals excluding matters related to armed forces.