High Courts of India: Quick Answer
India has 25 High Courts as of 7 November 2026, for 28 states and 8 union territories. Their total sanctioned judge strength is 1,122 judges (847 permanent + 275 additional), with 781 judges working and 341 posts vacant as on 3 August 2026. Seven High Courts have jurisdiction over more than one state or UT — Bombay, Calcutta, Gauhati, Kerala, Madras, Punjab and Haryana, and Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh — while the other 18 serve exactly one state or UT. The largest is Allahabad (160 sanctioned judges) and the smallest is Sikkim (3 judges). The oldest is Calcutta (1862) and the newest are Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (both 1 January 2019).
🔥 Key Exam Takeaway: Total = 25 High Courts. Sanctioned strength = 1,122 (Department of Justice, 2026) — not 1,114, which is the stale pre-2025 figure. Multi-state/UT jurisdiction = 7, not 6 and not 4. Constitutional frame = Articles 214–231 (Part VI, Chapter V). A High Court judge retires at 62 (65 is the Supreme Court). No Chief Justice names are listed in this note — they change too often to stay correct in a static list.
Why do websites disagree on the judge strength? Because the sanctioned strength rose from 1,114 to 1,122 during 2025, entirely through the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court going from 17 to 25 judges. Pages that still say 1,114 — and pages that still give Calcutta 98 judges — are using the old table. The figures on this page are the Department of Justice annexures to Parliament, as of 7 November 2026.
High Courts Basics: Articles 214–231
A High Court is the highest court of a state, below only the Supreme Court. High Courts are set up under Articles 214–231 of the Constitution (Part VI, Chapter V). Article 214 says every state shall have a High Court, but — and this is the first trap in the topic — Parliament can by law set up a common High Court for two or more states, or for a state and a union territory. That is why 28 states and 8 UTs are served by only 25 courts.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total High Courts | 25 |
| Constitutional provisions | Articles 214–231 (Part VI, Chapter V) |
| Article 214 | Every state shall have a High Court (a common High Court may serve more than one state/UT) |
| Article 217 | Appointment of High Court judges by the President (in consultation with the CJI and the Governor; collegium primacy by judicial interpretation) |
| Articles 226–227 | Writ jurisdiction, and superintendence over subordinate courts |
| Retirement age | 62 years (Supreme Court judges retire at 65) |
| Sanctioned strength | 1,122 judges (847 permanent + 275 additional), Department of Justice, 2026 |
| Working strength / vacancies | 781 working, 341 vacant as on 3 August 2026 (Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. 3251, answered 7 August 2026) |
| Largest High Court | Allahabad, 160 sanctioned judges |
| Smallest High Court | Sikkim, 3 sanctioned judges |
| Oldest High Court | Calcutta, 1862 |
| Newest High Courts | Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, both 1 January 2019 |
Judges of a High Court are appointed by the President under Article 217. In practice the collegium system has primacy: the Chief Justice of India and senior judges recommend names, and the President appoints on that advice. A High Court judge can be transferred to another High Court, and can be removed only by the same impeachment-style process as a Supreme Court judge. The court's writ jurisdiction under Article 226 is wider than the Supreme Court's under Article 32 — a High Court can issue writs for the enforcement of fundamental rights and for any other purpose, while the Supreme Court's writ jurisdiction is limited to fundamental rights.
The working-strength figures deserve a date stamp, because they move every few weeks as judges are appointed and retire. As on 3 August 2026, 781 judges were working and 341 posts were vacant. Six months earlier, on 27 January 2026, the figures were 814 working and 308 vacant. The sanctioned total of 1,122 did not change between those two dates — only the working and vacant split did.
Latest Changes (2025–26): The Strength Rise and the Kolhapur Bench
Two things changed recently, and both are exam-relevant because competitor pages get them wrong.
| Change | What happened | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Sanctioned strength rose 1,114 → 1,122 | The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court went from 17 judges (13 permanent + 4 additional) to 25 (19 + 6). The +8 accounts for the entire rise. The Department of Justice annexures show 1,114 in the February/March 2025 replies and 1,122 in the January and August 2026 replies. | During 2025 |
| Bombay High Court, Kolhapur bench | A circuit bench at Kolhapur was notified and began functioning on 18 August 2025, under Section 51(3) of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956 (Chief Justice's order with the Governor's approval). It serves Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Solapur districts. The Supreme Court upheld the sitting in December 2025. It is a circuit bench — formal permanent-bench status is still pending — so this note lists it as "(circuit)", not "(permanent)". | Notified 1 August 2025; functioning from 18 August 2025 |
| Calcutta strength corrected | The official figure is 72 judges (54 permanent + 18 additional), not 98 as Wikipedia's main table still shows. The 98 figure does not even add up internally. | Department of Justice annexures, 2026 |
The Kolhapur point needs care. Several 2026 compilations list Kolhapur as a permanent bench of the Bombay High Court, and the former Chief Justice of India said at its inauguration that permanent status was "only a matter of time". But the notification itself created a circuit bench under Section 51(3), and the Supreme Court's December 2025 judgment (Ranjeet Baburao Nimbalkar v. State of Maharashtra) upheld it as a place of sitting, not as a permanent bench. Until a permanent bench is formally notified, "circuit bench" is the correct label. Bombay now has four places of sitting besides its principal seat at Mumbai — Nagpur, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Panaji and Kolhapur — the most of any High Court.
High Courts of India List (All 25)
Establishment year, principal seat, benches and jurisdiction follow the standard compilations cross-checked against each other; sanctioned judge strength is the Department of Justice 2026 figure, which supersedes the stale Wikipedia table (total 1,114). "Orissa" and "Madras" are the courts' official names even though the state is Odisha and the city is Chennai. No Chief Justice column is given — Chief Justices change frequently and any list would be stale within weeks.
| # | High Court | Established | Principal seat | Bench(es) | Jurisdiction | Sanctioned judges |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Allahabad | 17 Mar 1866 | Prayagraj | Lucknow (permanent) | Uttar Pradesh | 160 |
| 2 | Andhra Pradesh | 1 Jan 2019 | Amaravati | — | Andhra Pradesh | 37 |
| 3 | Bombay | 14 Aug 1862 | Mumbai | Nagpur, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Panaji, Kolhapur (circuit) | Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu | 94 |
| 4 | Calcutta | 1 Jul 1862 | Kolkata | Port Blair (circuit), Jalpaiguri (circuit) | West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 72 |
| 5 | Chhattisgarh | 1 Nov 2000 | Bilaspur | — | Chhattisgarh | 22 |
| 6 | Delhi | 31 Oct 1966 | New Delhi | — | NCT of Delhi | 60 |
| 7 | Gauhati | 1 Mar 1948 | Guwahati | Kohima, Aizawl, Itanagar (permanent) | Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh | 30 |
| 8 | Gujarat | 1 May 1960 | Ahmedabad | — | Gujarat | 52 |
| 9 | Himachal Pradesh | 25 Jan 1971 | Shimla | — | Himachal Pradesh | 17 |
| 10 | Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh | 26 Mar 1928 | Srinagar / Jammu | Leh, Ladakh (permanent bench) | Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh | 25 |
| 11 | Jharkhand | 15 Nov 2000 | Ranchi | — | Jharkhand | 25 |
| 12 | Karnataka | 1884 | Bengaluru | Dharwad, Kalaburagi (permanent) | Karnataka | 62 |
| 13 | Kerala | 1 Nov 1956 | Kochi | — | Kerala, Lakshadweep | 47 |
| 14 | Madhya Pradesh | 2 Jan 1936 | Jabalpur | Gwalior, Indore (permanent) | Madhya Pradesh | 53 |
| 15 | Madras | 26 Jun 1862 | Chennai | Madurai (permanent) | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry | 75 |
| 16 | Manipur | 25 Mar 2013 | Imphal | — | Manipur | 5 |
| 17 | Meghalaya | 23 Mar 2013 | Shillong | — | Meghalaya | 4 |
| 18 | Orissa | 3 Apr 1948 | Cuttack | — | Odisha | 33 |
| 19 | Patna | 2 Sep 1916 | Patna | — | Bihar | 53 |
| 20 | Punjab and Haryana | 15 Aug 1947 | Chandigarh | — | Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh | 85 |
| 21 | Rajasthan | 21 Jun 1949 | Jodhpur | Jaipur (permanent) | Rajasthan | 50 |
| 22 | Sikkim | 16 May 1975 | Gangtok | — | Sikkim | 3 |
| 23 | Telangana | 1 Jan 2019 | Hyderabad | — | Telangana | 42 |
| 24 | Tripura | 26 Mar 2013 | Agartala | — | Tripura | 5 |
| 25 | Uttarakhand | 9 Nov 2000 | Nainital | — | Uttarakhand | 11 |
| TOTAL | 1,122 |
A few rows carry traps that examiners love. Allahabad was established at Agra on 17 March 1866 and shifted to Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in 1875 — the exam answer for "established" is 1866 and for "seat" is Prayagraj, though most exam keys still say Allahabad, so this note gives both names. Calcutta has two dates in circulation: 14 May 1862 (letters patent) and 1 July 1862 (the court began functioning); it is the oldest High Court on either date. Karnataka began in 1884 as the Mysore High Court and was renamed in 1973. Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh dates to 1928 (letters patent of the Maharaja) and became the common High Court of the two UTs after the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019; its seat alternates between Srinagar (summer) and Jammu (winter). Orissa officially retains the name "Orissa High Court" even though the state became Odisha in 2011, and Madras officially retains its name though the city is Chennai. The Bombay bench at Aurangabad is officially Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar since the 2023 renaming, but exam keys still say Aurangabad — learn both.
The 7 High Courts with Jurisdiction over More than One State or UT
This is the section competitor pages get wrong most often: one Testbook page says 6, another says 4. The correct count, counted from the jurisdiction column of the table above, is 7. The other 18 courts serve exactly one state or UT.
| High Court | Jurisdiction |
|---|---|
| Bombay | Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (2 states + 1 UT) |
| Calcutta | West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands |
| Gauhati | Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh (4 states — the widest jurisdiction) |
| Kerala | Kerala, Lakshadweep |
| Madras | Tamil Nadu, Puducherry |
| Punjab and Haryana | Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh |
| Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh | Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh |
The commonly missed one is Kerala (Lakshadweep) — that is the court most lists forget when they count 6. Gauhati covers the most states (4). The flip side of the same fact is the list of states and UTs that have no High Court of their own: Goa, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Mizoram (served by Gauhati or Bombay), Lakshadweep (Kerala), Puducherry (Madras), Chandigarh (Punjab & Haryana), Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (Bombay) and Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Calcutta). Delhi has its own High Court (since 31 October 1966 — it is not under Punjab & Haryana), and Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh share one common High Court; they do not have separate courts.
High Courts of India: Records and Firsts
| Record | Answer |
|---|---|
| Oldest High Court | Calcutta (1862) — letters patent 14 May 1862, functioning from 1 July 1862; then Madras (26 June 1862) and Bombay (14 August 1862) |
| The 1862 charter courts | Calcutta, Madras, Bombay — all under the Indian High Courts Act, 1861 |
| Newest High Courts | Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, both 1 January 2019 (bifurcation of the common Hyderabad High Court under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014) |
| Earliest High Court created after Independence | Punjab (now Punjab and Haryana), 15 August 1947, then Gauhati (1 March 1948), Orissa (3 April 1948) and Rajasthan (1949) |
| Largest (sanctioned judges) | Allahabad, 160 |
| Smallest (sanctioned judges) | Sikkim, 3, then Meghalaya, 4 |
| Most benches / places of sitting | Bombay (4) — Nagpur, Aurangabad, Panaji, Kolhapur |
| Widest jurisdiction | Gauhati (4 states) |
| First woman judge of a High Court | Anna Chandy, Kerala High Court (9 February 1959) |
| First woman Chief Justice of a High Court | Leila Seth — Himachal Pradesh High Court, 5 August 1991 (she was also the first woman judge of the Delhi High Court) |
| UNESCO World Heritage buildings | Bombay High Court building (Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai) and Punjab and Haryana High Court building (Le Corbusier's Capitol Complex, Chandigarh) |
The 2019 pair and the 2013 trio are the two newest clusters in the table. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana both got their High Courts on 1 January 2019, when the common Hyderabad High Court was split. And three north-eastern High Courts — Manipur, Meghalaya and Tripura — were all created in March 2013 under the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Amendment Act, 2012. The 2000 trio is the state-formation cluster: Chhattisgarh (1 November 2000), Uttarakhand (9 November 2000) and Jharkhand (15 November 2000), each created when its state was formed.
One-line facts that are asked in exams
- Allahabad (Prayagraj): the largest High Court with 160 sanctioned judges — well ahead of Bombay (94), the next largest.
- Sikkim (3): the smallest High Court; its seat is Gangtok and it was established on 16 May 1975, the day Sikkim became a state.
- Calcutta (1862): the oldest High Court; the order by date is Calcutta (May/July) → Madras (June) → Bombay (August) 1862.
- Orissa High Court is at Cuttack, not Bhubaneswar — and it officially keeps the name "Orissa".
- Madhya Pradesh High Court is at Jabalpur, not Bhopal — the two most-asked seat traps are Cuttack and Jabalpur.
- Delhi High Court (31 October 1966): Delhi has had its own High Court since 1966; it is not under Punjab & Haryana.
- Gauhati High Court: the only High Court with benches in three other state capitals — Kohima (Nagaland), Aizawl (Mizoram) and Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh).
- Bombay High Court (94 judges): the largest of the three 1862 charter courts by sanctioned strength, ahead of Madras (75) and Calcutta (72).
How to Remember High Courts of India (Study Method)
- Learn the 1862 trio first: C–B–M — Calcutta (May/July), Madras (June), Bombay (August) 1862. "Calcutta first, Madras middle, Bombay last" by month.
- Learn the 2019 pair: Andhra Pradesh + Telangana, both 1 January 2019 — "the Hyderabad split".
- Learn the 2013 trio: Manipur, Meghalaya, Tripura — all March 2013, the three new north-east High Courts.
- Learn the 2000 trio: Chhattisgarh (1 Nov), Uttarakhand (9 Nov), Jharkhand (15 Nov) — the three state-formation High Courts of 2000.
- Learn the seat rhymes: Allahabad–Prayagraj (UP), Patna–Bihar, Cuttack–Odisha, Jabalpur–MP, Bilaspur–Chhattisgarh, Nainital–Uttarakhand. "Cuttack, not Bhubaneswar" and "Jabalpur, not Bhopal" are the two most-asked seat traps.
- Learn the strength extremes: 160 (Allahabad, largest) vs 3 (Sikkim, smallest); total 1,122.
High Courts of India MCQs with Answers
Q1. How many High Courts are there in India? (a) 24 (b) 25 (c) 28 (d) 21 Answer: (b) 25, for 28 states and 8 union territories.
Q2. Which is the oldest High Court in India? (a) Bombay High Court (b) Madras High Court (c) Calcutta High Court (d) Allahabad High Court Answer: (c) Calcutta High Court (1862) — letters patent 14 May 1862, functioning from 1 July 1862.
Q3. Which High Court has the largest number of sanctioned judges? (a) Bombay High Court (b) Allahabad High Court (c) Madras High Court (d) Punjab and Haryana High Court Answer: (b) Allahabad High Court, 160 sanctioned judges.
Q4. Which is the smallest High Court in India by sanctioned strength? (a) Meghalaya (b) Sikkim (c) Tripura (d) Manipur Answer: (b) Sikkim High Court, 3 judges. Meghalaya is next with 4.
Q5. Which High Court has jurisdiction over the most states? (a) Bombay High Court (b) Calcutta High Court (c) Gauhati High Court (d) Punjab and Haryana High Court Answer: (c) Gauhati High Court — Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh, 4 states.
Q6. Where is the principal seat of the Bombay High Court? (a) Pune (b) Nagpur (c) Mumbai (d) Aurangabad Answer: (c) Mumbai. Its benches are at Nagpur, Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), Panaji and Kolhapur (circuit bench, from 18 August 2025).
Q7. Which two High Courts were established most recently, and when? (a) Manipur and Tripura, 2013 (b) Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, 1 January 2019 (c) Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand, 2000 (d) Uttarakhand and Jharkhand, 2000 Answer: (b) Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, both on 1 January 2019.
Q8. Under which Articles of the Constitution are High Courts established? (a) Articles 124–147 (b) Articles 214–231 (c) Articles 243–243O (d) Articles 308–323 Answer: (b) Articles 214–231 (Part VI, Chapter V).
Q9. What is the retirement age of a High Court judge? (a) 60 years (b) 62 years (c) 65 years (d) 58 years Answer: (b) 62 years. 65 is the retirement age of a Supreme Court judge.
Q10. Which High Court has jurisdiction over Lakshadweep? (a) Madras High Court (b) Bombay High Court (c) Kerala High Court (d) Karnataka High Court Answer: (c) Kerala High Court (principal seat Kochi).
High Courts of India FAQs
Does every state have its own High Court?
No. India has 25 High Courts for 28 states and 8 UTs. Seven courts cover more than one state or UT — for example, Gauhati covers 4 states and Bombay covers Maharashtra, Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.
Which is the newest High Court in India?
The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts, both established on 1 January 2019, when the common Hyderabad High Court was split.
How are High Court judges appointed?
By the President under Article 217, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the state. In practice the collegium system has primacy in recommending names.
What is the total sanctioned strength of High Court judges?
1,122 (847 permanent + 275 additional), per the Department of Justice, 2026. As on 3 August 2026, 781 judges were working and 341 posts were vacant.
Which High Court building is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
The Bombay High Court building (part of the Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai) and the Punjab and Haryana High Court building (part of Le Corbusier's Capitol Complex, Chandigarh).
Where is the Orissa High Court located?
Cuttack (not Bhubaneswar). The court officially retains the name "Orissa High Court" even though the state is Odisha.
Do Union Territories have High Courts?
Delhi has its own High Court (since 1966), and Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh share one common High Court. The other UTs fall under neighbouring states' High Courts — for example, Puducherry under Madras and Chandigarh under Punjab & Haryana.
Related topics: revise Important Articles of the Indian Constitution, States and Capitals of India 2026, List of Governors and Chief Ministers of Indian States 2026, First in India List and Census 2011 India Key Facts next.
Practice Next
- Test yourself: RRB NTPC Polity Mock Test 01
- More GA practice: SBI Clerk General Awareness Mock Test 01
- Polity notes: Important Articles of the Indian Constitution and First in India List
- State companion: States and Capitals of India 2026 and List of Governors and Chief Ministers of Indian States 2026
- Population context: Census 2011 India Key Facts
- General GK hub: Static GK for SSC CGL
- More free notes: All Study Notes
- Related list: Tribunals in India List
Sources: Department of Justice annexures to Parliament — Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. 116 (answered 29 January 2026) and Lok Sabha Unstarred Q. 3251 (answered 7 August 2026, sanctioned/working/vacancy as on 3 August 2026); Wikipedia "High courts of India" and "List of sitting judges of the high courts of India" (year, seat, benches, jurisdiction; corroborates the 1,122 total); JagranJosh list of High Courts in India; Bar & Bench and Live Law, Bombay High Court Kolhapur circuit bench (notified 1 August 2025, functioning from 18 August 2025); Supreme Court, Ranjeet Baburao Nimbalkar v. State of Maharashtra (decided 18 December 2025). As of 7 November 2026.