The High Court (Indian Polity and Governance)

Total Questions: 42

1. The authority to determine the number of Judges in a High Court rest with which of the following entities? [69th B.P.S.C. (Pre) 2023]

Correct Answer: (a) The President
Solution:The number of judges in a high court in India may be decided by the President of the country. According to Article 216 of the Indian Constitution, each High Court will have a Chief Justice and as many other judges as the President may decide to appoint on a case-by-case basis. Significantly. Article 216 states that every High Court shall consist of a Chief Justice and such other Judges as the President may from time to time deem it necessary to appoint: Provided that the Judges so appointed shall at no time exceed in number such maximum number as the President may, from time to time, by order fix in relation to that Court.

2. Which among the following is not correct about a High Court in India? [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2016]

Correct Answer: (c) Governor of the State appoints the Judges of a High Court.
Solution:According to Article 217(1), every judge of a High Court shall be appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal. So, option (c) is wrong while other options are correctly related to High Courts in India.

Appointment of Chief Justice of High Court
The Chief Justice is appointed by the President after consultation with the Governor of the concerned State and the Chief Justice of India.
Appointment of Other Judges of High Court

  • Other judges of the High Court are appointed by the President after consultation with the Governor of the State, the Chief Justice of India, and the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court.
  • In the case of a common High Court for two or more States, the Governors of all the States concerned are consulted by the President of India.
  • As per the Second Judges Case (1993), consultation with the Chief Justice of India means concurrence and advice tendered by the Chief Justice of India is binding on the President.
  • As per the Third Judges Case (1998), the Chief Justice of India should consult a collegium of 2 senior-most judges of the Supreme Court before recommending the name to the President.
    ∗ The recommendations made by the Chief Justice of India,              without consulting the collegium, are not binding on the                President.

3. According to which Article of the Indian Constitution, can the President of India (in consultation with the Chief Justice) transfer a Judge of a High Court from one court to another? [M.P.P.CS. (Pre.) 2022]

Correct Answer: (a) Article 222
Solution:As per the provision of Article 222 of the Indian Constitution, the President can transfer a judge from one High Court to another after consulting the Chief Justice of India. However, in the Third Judges case (1998), the Supreme Court opined that in case of the transfer of High Court judges, the Chief Justice of India should consult, in addition to the Collegium of four senior most judges of the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of the two high courts (one from which the judge is being transferred and the other receiving him). Thus, the sole opinion of the chief justice of India does not constitute the consultation process.

4. Acting Judges are appointed in: [U.P.R.O/A.R.O. (Pre) (Re-Exam) 2016]

Correct Answer: (c) High Court
Solution:Provision for the appointment of additional and acting Judges in the High Court comes under Article 224 of the Constitution of India. According to the Article 224 (13), if because of any temporary increase in the business of a High Court or by mason of armbars of work therein, it appears to the President that the number of the Judges of that court should be for the time being increased, duly qualified persons to be Additional Judges of the court for such period not exceeding two years as he may specify. According to the Article 224(2) when any lodge of a High Court other than the Chief Justice is by season of absence or for any other reason unable to perform the duties of his offer or is appointed so act temporarily as Chief justice, a duly qualified person to act as a Judge of that court until the permanent Judge has resumed his duties. According to the Article 224(3), no person appointed as an additional or acting Judge of a High Court shall hold office after attaining sixty-two years.

5. The salaries and allowances of the Judges of the High Court are charged to the: [I.A.S. (Pre) 2002, U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2013]

Correct Answer: (b) Consolidated Fund of the State
Solution:According to Article 202(3) (d), the salaries and allowances of the Judges of a High Court are charged to the Consolidated Fund of the State, but according to Article 112(3) (d), they get their pension from the Consolidated Fund of India.
  • The salaries, allowances, privileges, leave, and pension of the judges of the High Court are determined by the Parliament from time to time.
    ∗  They cannot be varied to their disadvantage after their                    appointment except during a Financial Emergency.

6. The pension of a retired High Court Judge is charged to the- [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2013]

Correct Answer: (a) Consolidated Fund of India.
Solution:According to Article 202(3) (d), the salaries and allowances of the Judges of a High Court are charged to the Consolidated Fund of the State, but according to Article 112(3) (d), they get their pension from the Consolidated Fund of India.

Tenure of Judges of High Court
The Constitution has not fixed the tenure of a judge of the High Court. However, the Constitution contains the following four provisions in this regard:

  • He/she holds office until he attains the age of 62 years.
    ∗   Any question regarding his/her age is to be decided by the              President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the decision of the President is final.
  • He/she can resign from his/her office by writing to the President.
  • He/she can be removed from his/her office by the President on the recommendation of the Parliament.
  • He/she vacates his/her office when he/she is appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court or when he/she is transferred to another High Court.

7. The age of retirement of a High Court Judge is- [M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 1999]

Correct Answer: (c) 62
Solution:Tenure of Judges of High Court
The Constitution has not fixed the tenure of a judge of the High Court. However, the Constitution contains the following four provisions in this regard:
  • He/she holds office until he attains the age of 62 years.
    ∗   Any question regarding his/her age is to be decided by the              President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the decision of the President is final.
  • He/she can resign from his/her office by writing to the President.
  • He/she can be removed from his/her office by the President on the recommendation of the Parliament.
  • He/she vacates his/her office when he/she is appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court or when he/she is transferred to another High Court.

8. What is the maximum age limit of a High Court Judge- [M.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2023]

Correct Answer: (b) 62 years
Solution:Tenure of Judges of High Court
The Constitution has not fixed the tenure of a judge of the High Court. However, the Constitution contains the following four provisions in this regard:
  • He/she holds office until he attains the age of 62 years.
    ∗   Any question regarding his/her age is to be decided by the              President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the decision of the President is final.
  • He/she can resign from his/her office by writing to the President.
  • He/she can be removed from his/her office by the President on the recommendation of the Parliament.
  • He/she vacates his/her office when he/she is appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court or when he/she is transferred to another High Court.

9. Consider the following statements: [I.A.S. (Pre) 2002]

1. There are 25 High Courts in India.

2. Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh have a common High Court.

3. National Capital Territory of Delhi has a High Court of its own.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Correct Answer: (c) 1.2 and 3
Solution:Presently there are 25 High Courts in the country. High Courts are instituted as Constitutional Courts under Part VI, Chapter V. Article 214 of the Indian Constitution. Union Territory of Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir have their own High Court. It is the only Union Territory to have a separate High Court. While Punjab, Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh have a common High Court.

10. Consider the following statements regarding the High Courts in India: [I.A.S. (Pre) 2001]

1. There are eighteen High Courts in the country.

2. Three of them have jurisdiction over more than one state.

3. No Union Territory has High Court of its own.

4. Judges of the High Court hold office till the age of 62.

Which of these statements is were correct?

Correct Answer: (e) None of the above 
Solution:At present, the total number of High Courts are 25 in India. Among these, 7 have jurisdiction over more than one State Union Territory. Union Territory of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir have its own High Court.

High Courts in India are the highest judicial authority in each state or Union Territory, overseeing subordinate courts. According to Article 231 of the Constitution, while each state generally has its own High Court, some states share a single court. India has 25 High Courts, with the Calcutta High Court, established in 1862, being the oldest, alongside Bombay and Madras High Courts. The Telangana and Andhra Pradesh High Courts were established in 2019. Each High Court is headed by a Chief Justice, with additional judges appointed by the President of India. The Madras Law Journal, started in 1891, reports judicial decisions.