Every high court comprises a Chief Justice who is appointed by the president in consultation with the Chief Justice of The Supreme Court of India and the Governor of the concerned state. The other junior judges are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of both the Supreme Court of India and the High Court of the particular state and by the Governor.

Qualifications:

The candidate has to satisfy the following conditions to become a judge or a lawyer of the High Court.

  1. He/she must be a citizen of India.
  2. The candidate must not attain an age of more than 62 years.
  3. He/she should have been a judge of a subordinate court in any state for a term of 10 consecutive years.
  4. He/she should have been a lawyer in any High Court situated in India for a tenure of 10 years.

Earlier, the retirement age of the judges of the High Court was 60 years but it has been raised to 62 years according to the provisions of the Constitution Amendment Act (15th) of 1963.

The President has the power to give an effect to the removal of the judge of a High Court if a motion has been passed against the judge by the Parliament with and complete majority and a two-thirds majority of the members presenting and voting from both the houses.

A High Court Judge  can inform his resignation in the form of writing to the President.

A High Court judge must  leave its office when he  is transferred to another High Court or is promoted to the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court.

The provisions related to the High Court judge’s appointment, tenure, and qualification are mentioned under Article 217 of the Constitution.

The provisions regarding the salaries of the High Court judges are mentioned under Article 221 of the Indian Constitution. The salary of the Chief Justice of the High Court ranges from Rs.90,000 to 95,000 every month and that of the other judges ranges from Rs.80,000 to 85,000 per month.

Powers:

The High court’s enjoy the following jurisdictions:

  • The Original Jurisdiction:

This means that the High Court has the authority to hear and issue orders, directions, writs, etc., in matters of dispute in the first instance, other than a way of appeal. It enforces the fundamental rights of the citizens in matters of marriages, divorce, will, and contempt of the court. It also imposes similar jurisdiction in matters of the election of MLAs and MPs. 

  • Appellate Jurisdiction:

The High Court has the authority to hear issues related to subordinate courts in both criminal and civil cases.

  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.

A high Court also enjoys the authority to put down any law of the state or any executive order that is against the provisions of the Indian Constitution or takes away the basic fundamental rights of the citizens.

The newest high Courts that were established in India on January 1, 2019, are the Andhra Pradesh High Court and Telangana High Court. These high courts were formed as there was a single high court for both the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana at Hyderabad which is the latter’s capital city. The country now has 25 high courts.

We will now have a brief idea about the Constitutional Amendment Act of 1963.

  • The Act raised the retirement age limit of the judges of the High court from 60 to 62 years.
  • It enabled the High Court of the different states to issue orders and writs to any person who is beyond or out of the authority of the Indian territory if the reason behind the issue rises within the territorial boundaries of India.
  • It allowed the retired high court judges to perform as the ad-hoc judge of the Supreme Court.
  • It also provided compensatory allowances in respect of the transfer of a judge from one high court to the other.

Conclusion:

The High Court serves as the highest legal authority in a state. The High Court has a wider scope as it can issue writs and orders for violating the fundamental rights of the citizens as well as for the legal right whereas the Supreme Court can order the initiation of writs only in cases where the fundamental rights are violated.