How Many High Courts Are There in India?

In India a High Court is the principal civil and criminal court of a state or Union Territory. It is the highest court at the state level, just below the Supreme Court of India in the judicial hierarchy.

The Head of a High court is appointed by the President of India (after a consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the State), known as Chief Justice of the High Court. They are held responsible for Overseeing functioning of the entire court and its subordinate judiciary, assigning judges to benches, and also preside over the important or constitutional benches.

Under Chief Justice Puisne Judges’ work, who are also appointed by the president, the number of judges depends on the workload and the size of the state.

Each High court supervises many lower/subordinate courts

High Courts in India: Quick Facts (2026)

Hello guys, if you are here only for the quick answer, then here it is. India has 25 High Courts in 2026. Below is a simple table with all the important facts which students and readers ask me again and again.

Detail	Information
Total High Courts (2026)	25
Oldest High Court	Calcutta High Court (started on 1 July 1862)
First three High Courts	Calcutta, Bombay and Madras (all in 1862)
Newest High Courts	Andhra Pradesh and Telangana (1 January 2019)
Largest High Court	Allahabad High Court, 160 sanctioned judges
Smallest High Court	Sikkim High Court, 3 sanctioned judges
Total sanctioned judges	1,122
Working judges (1 July 2026)	781, with 341 posts vacant
Retirement age of judges	62 years
Part of Constitution	Articles 214 to 231 (Part VI, Chapter V)
Writ power	Article 226
Power over lower courts	Article 227

Source: Anantam IAS and ThePrint (Law Ministry data).

Honestly, the number which surprised me the most is the vacancy. Almost one out of every three judge posts is empty, and I think that is one big reason why cases take so long in India.

As of 2026 there are a total 25 High courts in India

It is common for every state to have a High court of its own, but India has 28 states and 8 Union territories which, that is several High Courts in India, have jurisdiction over more than one state or Union Territory.

This is possible because of Article 231 of the Constitution, which allows one common High Court for two or more states or union territories, as per Anantam IAS. If you want to know more about the 8 UTs, then read my blog on how many union territories are there in India.

The High courts that have multiple jurisdictions are:

Bombay High Court (Mumbai)

Bombay High court is one of the three chartered High Courts along with Calcutta and Madras, established in pre independent India, now it has Jurisdictions over:

Maharashtra
Goa
Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli & Daman and Diu

Fun fact for architecture lovers guys, the old Gothic building of the Bombay High Court is part of the “Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensembles of Mumbai”, which became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018.

Gauhati (Guwahati) High Court

Guwahati High Court has Jurisdiction over most number of states among all the high courts.
Assam
Nagaland
Mizoram
Arunachal Pradesh

Its official name is the Gauhati High Court. It has its principal seat at Guwahati and benches at Kohima, Aizawl and Itanagar, as per Anantam IAS. Till 2013 it served all seven northeastern states, but then Meghalaya, Manipur and Tripura got their own High Courts.

Kerala High Court (Ernakulam)

Kerala
Union Territory of Lakshadweep

Madras High Court (Chennai)

Tamil Nadu
Union Territory of Puducherry

Punjab and Haryana High Court (Chandigarh)

Punjab
Haryana
Union Territory of Chandigarh

I really love this one because of its building. The Punjab and Haryana High Court is part of the Capitol Complex designed by the famous architect Le Corbusier, and this complex became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016.

Calcutta High Court (Kolkata)

This is among the 5 oldest courts in India, and also the First High Court to be established in India under the Indian High Courts Act, 1861. This High court holds Jurisdiction over:

West Bengal
Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands

It has a circuit bench at Sri Vijaya Puram (earlier Port Blair) for the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh

This is one more common High Court which many lists forget guys. It serves two union territories:

Jammu and Kashmir
Ladakh

It has its seats at both Srinagar and Jammu, and Anantam IAS also lists it as the common High Court for these two UTs.

Full List of All 25 High Courts in India (2026)

Many of you asked me for the complete list, so here it is guys. I have added the main seat, the states and UTs each High Court covers, and its sanctioned number of judges as per the Department of Justice data.

#	High Court	Principal Seat	Jurisdiction	Sanctioned Judges
1	Allahabad	Prayagraj (bench at Lucknow)	Uttar Pradesh	160
2	Andhra Pradesh	Amaravati	Andhra Pradesh	37
3	Bombay	Mumbai (benches at Nagpur, Aurangabad, Panaji, Kolhapur)	Maharashtra, Goa, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu	94
4	Calcutta	Kolkata (circuit bench at Sri Vijaya Puram)	West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands	72
5	Chhattisgarh	Bilaspur	Chhattisgarh	22
6	Delhi	New Delhi	Delhi	60
7	Gauhati	Guwahati (benches at Kohima, Aizawl, Itanagar)	Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh	30
8	Gujarat	Ahmedabad	Gujarat	52
9	Himachal Pradesh	Shimla	Himachal Pradesh	17
10	Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh	Srinagar and Jammu	Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh	25
11	Jharkhand	Ranchi	Jharkhand	25
12	Karnataka	Bengaluru (benches at Dharwad, Kalaburagi)	Karnataka	62
13	Kerala	Kochi (Ernakulam)	Kerala, Lakshadweep	47
14	Madhya Pradesh	Jabalpur (benches at Indore, Gwalior)	Madhya Pradesh	53
15	Madras	Chennai (bench at Madurai)	Tamil Nadu, Puducherry	75
16	Manipur	Imphal	Manipur	5
17	Meghalaya	Shillong	Meghalaya	4
18	Orissa	Cuttack	Odisha	33
19	Patna	Patna	Bihar	53
20	Punjab and Haryana	Chandigarh	Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh	85
21	Rajasthan	Jodhpur (bench at Jaipur)	Rajasthan	50
22	Sikkim	Gangtok	Sikkim	3
23	Telangana	Hyderabad	Telangana	42
24	Tripura	Agartala	Tripura	5
25	Uttarakhand	Nainital	Uttarakhand	11
	Total			1,122

Source: Sanctioned strength from Department of Justice data shared by SC Observer, and benches from eCourts High Court Services and Anantam IAS.

As you can see guys, Allahabad alone has more judges then the seven smallest High Courts put together. I think this shows how big the workload of Uttar Pradesh is.

What does the High Court do in India?

A large portion of High courts’ work in India includes appeals from lower courts and writ petitions in terms of Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution. Writ Jurisdiction is also the primary function of the High courts.

In addition to this High court also supervises and controls the other subordinate courts that falls under its authority. This also implies that decisions of a High Court are binding on all subordinate courts within its jurisdiction.

There are three types of benches for High Court,

Single Bench (one judge) – For bail, writs, civil cases
Division Bench (2 judges) – For appeals and complex matters
Full Bench (3+ judges) – For constitutional questions or conflict in judgments

But depending on the state and work, the number of judges in a High court vary, from Allahabad High Court ranking the highest with 160 judges to Sikkim High Court with only 3 judges.

Judiciary stands as an important pillar of democracy, it checks the legislative safeguarding the rights of citizens, it also oversees executive actions. By doing so it maintains a balance of power.

Judges and Vacancies in High Courts (2026 Data)

Now let me tell you the real situation guys. As per Law Ministry data given in the Rajya Sabha and reported by ThePrint, as of 1 July 2026 the 25 High Courts had 1,122 sanctioned posts, but only 781 judges were working. That means 341 posts, or more then 30 percent, were empty.

Here are the High Courts with the most vacant posts:

High Court	Sanctioned Judges	Vacant Posts
Allahabad	160	52
Calcutta	72	31
Punjab and Haryana	85	30
Madras	75	24
Bombay	94	19
Gujarat	52	18

Source: ThePrint, data as of 1 July 2026.

A few more facts from the same report. In percentage terms, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court was the worst, with 13 of its 25 posts empty. And the Meghalaya High Court was the only one working at full strength. Also, as per a Rajya Sabha reply, the total sanctioned strength of High Court judges has grown from 906 in 2014 to 1,122 now.

If you ask me, the problem is not only judges but also pending cases. As per Anantam IAS, National Judicial Data Grid shows more then 62 lakh cases pending in High Courts in 2026.

How Are High Court Judges Appointed?

Many students get confused in this, so let me explain in simple words:

Who appoints: The President of India appoints High Court judges under Article 217, and additional judges under Article 224.
Who recommends: The proposal starts from the collegium of that High Court. Then the state government gives its views, and the file goes to the Supreme Court Collegium. Only the names recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium are appointed, as per the Law Ministry reply reported by ThePrint.
Who can become a judge: A person who has been an advocate of a High Court for 10 years, or has held judicial office for 10 years.
Retirement: High Court judges retire at the age of 62.
Removal: A judge can be removed only through a process in both Houses of Parliament.

Source for points 3 to 5: Anantam IAS.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How many High Courts are there in India in 2026?

There are 25 High Courts in India in 2026.

2. Which is the oldest High Court in India?

The Calcutta High Court is the oldest. It started on 1 July 1862, and the Bombay and Madras High Courts also came in the same year.

3. Which is the largest High Court in India?

The Allahabad High Court is the largest, with 160 sanctioned judges. The smallest is the Sikkim High Court with only 3 judges.

4. Which are the newest High Courts in India?

The Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts are the newest. Both started on 1 January 2019.

5. Which states do not have their own separate High Court?

Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh are served by the Gauhati High Court, Goa by the Bombay High Court, and Punjab and Haryana share one common High Court.

6. What is the retirement age of a High Court judge?

High Court judges retire at the age of 62 years.

Final Words

So guys, this was all about how many High Courts are there in India. Right now there are 25 High Courts, from the 1862 Calcutta High Court to the 2019 Andhra Pradesh and Telangana High Courts. I have tried to cover the full list, the common High Courts, the 2026 vacancy data and how judges are appointed, in simple words. If you ask me, filling the empty judge posts is the biggest need of our judiciary today. Keep visiting The Indian Architecture for more such blogs.

Also Read:

Sources

Last Updated: October 20, 2026