Constitutional Provisions

Key Articles Related to High Courts

Part VI (Articles 214-231)
  • Article 214: Establishes a High Court for each State.
  • Article 215: Declares High Courts to be **courts of record**, with the power to punish for contempt.
  • Article 216: Deals with the composition of High Courts (Chief Justice and other Judges).
  • Article 217: Governs the appointment and conditions of office for High Court Judges.
  • Article 226: Grants High Courts the power to issue **writs** for enforcing fundamental rights and other legal rights.
  • Article 231: Allows for the establishment of a common High Court for two or more States.

Fast Facts

Important Facts for Prelims

  • Total High Courts: There are 25 High Courts in India .
  • Oldest High Court: The Calcutta High Court, established in **1862** . The Bombay and Madras High Courts were also established in the same year .
  • Newest High Courts: The Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Courts, both established in **2019** .
  • Common Courts:
    • Punjab and Haryana share a common High Court in **Chandigarh**.
    • The North-Eastern states (Assam, Mizoram, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh) share the **Guwahati High Court**.

Complete List of High Courts

Below is the list of all 25 High Courts, their year of establishment, territorial jurisdiction, and seat/bench location.

Jurisdiction and Seats

High Court Year Territorial Jurisdiction Seat & Bench
Kolkata 1862 West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands Seat: Kolkata
Bench: Port Blair
Bombay 1862 Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu Seat: Mumbai
Bench: Panaji, Aurangabad, Nagpur
Madras 1862 Tamil Nadu, Puducherry Seat: Chennai
Bench: Madurai
Allahabad 1866 Uttar Pradesh Seat: Allahabad
Bench: Lucknow
Karnataka 1884 Karnataka Seat: Bengaluru
Bench: Dharwad, Gulbarga
Patna 1916 Bihar Seat: Patna
Jammu & Kashmir 1928 Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh Seat: Srinagar and Jammu
Guwahati 1948 Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh Seat: Guwahati
Bench: Kohima, Aizawl, Itanagar
Odisha 1949 Odisha Seat: Cuttack
Rajasthan 1949 Rajasthan Seat: Jodhpur
Bench: Jaipur
Madhya Pradesh 1956 Madhya Pradesh Seat: Jabalpur
Bench: Gwalior, Indore
Kerala 1958 Kerala, Lakshadweep Seat: Ernakulam
Gujarat 1960 Gujarat Seat: Ahmedabad
Delhi 1966 NCT of Delhi Seat: Delhi
Himachal Pradesh 1971 Himachal Pradesh Seat: Shimla
Punjab & Haryana 1975 Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh Seat: Chandigarh
Sikkim 1975 Sikkim Seat: Gangtok
Chhattisgarh 2000 Chhattisgarh Seat: Bilaspur
Uttarakhand 2000 Uttarakhand Seat: Nainital
Jharkhand 2000 Jharkhand Seat: Ranchi
Tripura 2013 Tripura Seat: Agartala
Manipur 2013 Manipur Seat: Imphal
Meghalaya 2013 Meghalaya Seat: Shillong
Telangana 2019 Telangana Seat: Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh 2019 Andhra Pradesh Seat: Amravati