High Courts — Set 4

Correct Answer: B. 62 years

• **62 years** = the retirement age of a High Court judge under Article 217(1). • **15th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1963** — raised the HC retirement age from 60 to 62; SC retirement age remains 65. • 💡 Option A (58 years) is not the retirement age for any constitutional judge in India. Option C (60 years) was the pre-1963 retirement age for HC judges — now superseded. Option D (65 years) is the retirement age of Supreme Court judges, not HC judges.

Correct Answer: B. Calcutta High Court

• **Calcutta High Court** = the first High Court established in India, in July 1862. • **1862 trio** — Calcutta (July), Bombay (August), and Madras (August) were all established in 1862 under the Indian High Courts Act 1861. • 💡 Option A (Bombay HC) was established in August 1862 — after Calcutta. Option C (Allahabad HC) was established in 1866, four years later. Option D (Madras HC) was also established in August 1862 — the same month as Bombay, but after Calcutta.

Correct Answer: A. 25

• **25 High Courts** = total number of High Courts in India as of 2024. • **2019 additions** — the Telangana HC and the Andhra Pradesh HC were bifurcated from the common Hyderabad HC, taking the count from 24 to 25. • 💡 Option B (28) is incorrect — 28 is the number of states, not High Courts. Option C (21) is an outdated count from before several new HCs were created. Option D (24) was the count before 2019; it is now 25 after the AP/Telangana bifurcation.

Correct Answer: B. 100 members

• **100 members of Lok Sabha** = minimum signatures required to introduce a removal motion against a HC (or SC) judge. • **50 members of Rajya Sabha** — if the motion is introduced in the upper house, only 50 signatures are needed. • 💡 Option A (75 members) is not mentioned anywhere in the Constitution or the Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968. Option C (50 members) is the Rajya Sabha requirement, not Lok Sabha. Option D (25 members) is far too low and has no constitutional basis.

Correct Answer: B. Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968

• **Judges (Inquiry) Act 1968** = the law that regulates the investigation and proof of misbehaviour/incapacity of HC (and SC) judges. • **Three-member committee** — consists of the CJI (or SC judge), a HC Chief Justice, and a distinguished jurist to investigate charges. • 💡 Option A (Contempt of Courts Act 1971) deals with contempt proceedings, not removal. Option C (Judicial Standards Act 2010) — no such act; a Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill was proposed but not passed. Option D (High Court Judges Act 1954) relates to salaries, not removal.

Correct Answer: B. Four

• **Four states** = current jurisdiction of Guwahati HC: Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh. • **2013** — Manipur, Meghalaya, and Tripura got separate High Courts, reducing the Guwahati HC's coverage from 7 to 4 states. • 💡 Option A (Three) is incorrect — the current count is four states, not three. Option C (Seven) was the historical count before 2013 when three states got their own HCs. Option D (Two) is wrong — no scenario in which Guwahati HC covered only two states.

Correct Answer: C. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana

• **Andhra Pradesh and Telangana HCs** = the two newest High Courts, established in 2019 after the bifurcation of the common Hyderabad HC. • **2019** — the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014 had directed bifurcation; it finally happened in 2019 raising total HCs to 25. • 💡 Option A (Tripura and Mizoram) got separate HCs in 2013. Option B (Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh) HCs were established in 2000. Option D (Manipur and Meghalaya) HCs were also established in 2013, not 2019.

Correct Answer: C. Leila Seth

• **Leila Seth** = the first woman Chief Justice of a High Court in India (Himachal Pradesh HC, 1991). • **Anna Chandy distinction** — Anna Chandy (Kerala HC, 1959) was the first woman judge of a HC, but not Chief Justice. • 💡 Option A (Fatima Bibi) was the first woman justice of the Supreme Court (1989), not a HC Chief Justice. Option B (Anna Chandy) was the first woman HC judge but not Chief Justice. Option D (Ruma Pal) was a Supreme Court judge (2000); she did not become a HC Chief Justice.

Correct Answer: D. The High Court where he held office

• **Own HC restriction** = a retired HC judge is permanently barred from pleading or acting in the HC where he held office. • **Permitted elsewhere** — the retired judge can practise in the Supreme Court or any other High Court after retirement. • 💡 Option A (Supreme Court) is incorrect — a retired HC judge CAN practise in the SC. Option B (any court in India) is too broad — the restriction applies only to the HC of former appointment. Option C (Other High Courts) is also wrong — he is free to practise in other HCs.

Correct Answer: B. Jabalpur

• **Jabalpur** = the principal seat of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. • **Circuit benches** — at Gwalior and Indore; Bhopal (state capital) does not host the HC's principal bench. • 💡 Option A (Gwalior) has a circuit bench but not the principal seat. Option C (Indore) also has a circuit bench, not the principal seat. Option D (Bhopal) is the state capital but the HC principal seat is in Jabalpur.