High Court can be defined as a superior court within a state or country. In some countries, the high court refers to the highest court such as in Australia, whereas in other countries the high court has a lower position in the court hierarchy. A person who works as a judge in these courts is referred to as a “judge of High Court” or “High Court Judge”. Students who are aspiring to sit in railway exams must know the total number of high courts in India. Further, they should also have knowledge about which states in India share a common High Court. Knowledge about High Courts in India is very important in the subject of Polity.
High Courts throughout India
There are a total of 25 high courts present throughout India. Among these 25 High courts, 6 high courts have control over multiple states as well as Union Territories of India. In each high court, a chief justice judge or other similar judges should be present as appointed by India’s President. In this context, it should be mentioned that the presence of a fixed number of judges is not necessary for these high courts. The number of judges needed in the high court varies according to the requirement of each court and state throughout India. However, some qualifications are needed to become a judge in a high court. Firstly the Individual appealing for the job of the judge in a high court must be an Indian citizen. Secondly, the person must have had a judicial agency in Indian territory for over 10 years. Lastly, the person needs to be an advocate for one or more high courts for at least 10 years.
High Court with control over multiple states or union territories
There are around 25 High courts throughout India. Among these 6 high courts have control over multiple states or Union territories. These have been discussed in the following.
Kolkata High Court: The Kolkata high court was established in 1862. The territorial jurisdiction of the Kolkata high court in West Bengal and Andaman and the Nicobar Islands. The seat of the high court is in Kolkata and the Bench is in Port Blair.
Bombay High Court: The Bombay high court was established in 1862. The territorial jurisdiction of Bombay high court is Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, Daman and Diu, and Maharashtra. The seat of the high court is in Mumbai and the Benches are in Nagpur, Aurangabad, and Panjhi.
Guwahati High Court: The Guwahati high court was established in 1948. The territorial jurisdiction of the Bombay high court is Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Mizoram. The seat of the high court is in Guwahati and the Benches are in Aizawal, Itanagar, and Kohima.
Punjab and Haryana High Court: The Punjab and Haryana high court was established in 1975. The territorial jurisdiction of Punjab and Haryana high court in Chandigarh, Haryana, and Punjab. The seat and bench of the high court are located in Punjab.
Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh High court: The Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh high court were established in 2019. The territorial jurisdiction of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh high court is Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh. It should be mentioned that the High court in Jammu and Kashmir was established in 1928. This was before the bi-furcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories. However, now there is a common high court.
Madras High Court: The Madras high court was established in 1862. The territorial jurisdiction of the Madras high court in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. The seat of the high court is in Chennai and the Bench is in Madurai.
Conclusion
The entire article has been written on the main topic of states of India that share a common high court. General knowledge about the different high courts throughout India is very important in the subject of Polity. To analyse this core topic firstly the high courts of India have been briefly described. After that, the high courts have been identified that have control over multiple states or union territories. Lastly, some key terms such as division bench and the full bench have also been discussed.