Q. With reference to High Court of India, consider the following statements:
1. The institution of high court originated in India in 1862.
2. It is mandatory for every state in India to have high court with a constitutional status.
3. The territorial jurisdiction of a high court is co-terminus with the territory of a state.
4. The jurisdiction and powers of a high court cannot be curtailed in any case by the Parliament of India or the state legislature.
How many statements given above are correct?
Exp) Option c is the correct answer.
The constitution provides for a High Court at the apex of the State judiciary. The High Court of India is enshrined in Article 214 to 231 of Part VI of Indian constitution.
Statement 1 is correct The India High Courts Act 1861 was enacted to create High Courts for various provinces and abolished Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Madras and Bombay and the Sadar Adalats in Presidency towns. The first high court in India, ‘The High Court of Judicature at Fort William’, now called the ‘High Court of Calcutta’, was brought into existence by the Letters Patent dated 14 May 1862. The act was passed after the Indian Rebellion of 1857 to consolidate the parallel legal system of the crown and East Indian Company.
Statement 2 is correct. Part VI of the Constitution of India contains provisions regarding the organisation and functions of the High Court. By the provision of Article 214 which says, “there shall be a High Court for each state”, every state in India has a High Court and these courts have a constitutional status.
Statement 3 is correct. The Constitution of India provides for a high court for each state, but the Seventh Amendment Act of 1956 authorised the Parliament to establish a common high court for two or more states or for two or more states and a union territory. The territorial jurisdiction of a high court is co-terminus with the territory of a state. Similarly, the territorial jurisdiction of a common high court is coterminus with the territories of the concerned states and union territory.
Statement 4 is incorrect. The jurisdiction and powers of a high court in so far as they are specified in the Constitution cannot be curtailed both by the Parliament and the state legislature. But, in other respects, the jurisdiction and powers of a high court can be changed both by the parliament and the state legislature.
