The State High Courts
At the State Level, the Constitution provides for a High Court which is the apex organ of Judicial administration in the States. Article 214 of the Constitution provides that there shall be a High Court for each State. The 7th 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. There are 21 High Courts in the country, 3 having jurisdiction over more than 1 state. Among the Union Territories, Delhi alone has a High Court of its own (since 1966). The other 6 Union Territories come under the jurisdiction of different states High Courts. Composition: The High Court of a State consists of a Chief Justice and such other Judges as the President may from time to time determine. This implies that the strength of the High Court has not been fixed by the Constitution and is determined by the President. It is not the same for all the High Courts. Appointment of Judges: The Chief Justice of the High Court is appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the State Concerned. The judges of the High Court are appointed by the President in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justice of the High Court and the Governor of the State.
Qualifications
A person to be eligible for appointment as a judge of a High Court must possess. the following qualifications:
a) He must be a citizen of India
b) He must have held a judicial office for at least ten years.
c) He must be an advocate of a High Court with a standing of at least ten years.
Terms of Office
The judges of High Court hold office until they attain the age of sixty-two years. The judges can be removed from their office earlier on grounds of proved mis-behaviour or incapacity. The order for their removal can be issued by the President only after the two houses of Parliament have passed a resolution by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of each House present and voting and request the President to remove a particular judge. A judge of a High Court can also resign his office by writing to the President.
Independence of the Judges
As in the case of the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Constitution seeks to maintain the independence of the judges of the High Courts by a number of provisions namely:
a) By laying down that a judge of the High Court shall not be removed except in the manner provided for the removal of a judge of a Supreme Court;
b). By providing that the expenditure in respect of the salaries and allowances of the Judges shall be charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State.
By specifying in the Constitution the salaries payable to the Judges and providing that the allowances of a judge or his rights in respect of leave or pension shall not be varied by Parliament to his disadvantage after his appointment except under a proclamation of financial emergency; By laying down that after retirement a permanent judge of High Court shall not plead or act in a court or before any authority in India except the Supreme Court and a High Court other than the High Court in which he had held his office.
Control of the Union over High Court
The control of the Union over a High Court in India is exercised in the following matters: a) Appointment and transfer of Judges from one High Court to another and the removal and determination of dispute as to the age of Judges of High Court. b) The Constitution and organization of High Courts and the power to establish a common High Court for two or more states and to extend a common High Court for two or more States and to extend the jurisdiction of High Court to or to exclude its jurisdiction from, a Union Territory, are all exclusive powers of the Union Parliament.
Here are some notes on Jurisdiction Of High Courts.