CDS (I) 2021 General Knowledge · Question 50 of 120

Correct — A, the Parliament. Article 231(1) reads: 'Parliament may by law establish a common High Court for two or more States or for two or more States and a Union territory.' The two operative words are Parliament and by law — this is legislative power, exercised through a statute, not an executive act of the President or an order of any court. The provision matters because several Indian High Courts have exactly this character: the Gauhati High Court has served a group of north-eastern States, the Punjab and Haryana High Court serves two States and the Union Territory of Chandigarh, and the Bombay and Madras High Courts extend to Union Territories. Article 231 also settles the consequential questions, applying the references to the Governor, the State Public Service Commission and the State Legislature in the judges' provisions to each of the States concerned.

• (b)the Supreme Court. — Courts do not create courts. The Supreme Court has appellate and writ jurisdiction and, through the collegium, a decisive voice in appointments, but establishing a High Court is a matter for the legislature.
• (c)the President of India. — The most tempting wrong answer, because the President does appoint High Court judges under Article 217 and does have power to extend a High Court's jurisdiction to a Union Territory under Article 230. Appointing to a court and establishing one are different acts, and Article 231 gives the second to Parliament.
• (d)the Union Cabinet. — The Cabinet is not a constitutional repository of power in this sense. It may decide to bring a Bill, but the Constitution vests the power in Parliament, acting by law.

Part VI, Chapter V of the Constitution governs the High Courts. Article 214 gives every State a High Court; Article 216 fixes its composition; Article 217 provides for the appointment and tenure of judges; Article 226 confers the writ jurisdiction; Article 230 lets Parliament extend or exclude a High Court's jurisdiction over a Union Territory; and Article 231 lets Parliament establish one High Court for two or more States. Article 214 and Article 231 have to be read together — the guarantee of a High Court for every State does not mean a separate High Court for every State.

The reliable habit for questions of this kind is to ask what kind of act is being described. Establishing an institution, altering a boundary, changing a name, creating a new State — these are legislative acts and belong to Parliament by law. Appointing an individual, issuing a proclamation, making a reference — these are executive or constitutional acts of the President. Article 231 is plainly of the first kind, and the words 'may by law' in the text confirm it. The provision is also a live piece of constitutional practice rather than a museum piece: as of the 2021 exam India had twenty-five High Courts for twenty-eight States and eight Union Territories, and the gap is filled entirely by common High Courts created under this Article and by jurisdiction extended under Article 230.

• Article 231(1): 'Parliament may by law establish a common High Court for two or more States or for two or more States and a Union territory.'
• The power is legislative — exercised by law — and not by presidential order or judicial direction.
• Article 214 provides that there shall be a High Court for each State, which Article 231 qualifies by allowing one court to serve several States.
• Article 230 separately empowers Parliament to extend or exclude the jurisdiction of a High Court in relation to a Union Territory.
• The Punjab and Haryana High Court and the Gauhati High Court are standing examples of High Courts serving more than one State or territory.

• Choosing the President because he appoints High Court judges; appointment and establishment are separate powers under separate Articles.
• Assuming Article 214 requires a separate High Court for every State; it requires a High Court for every State, which a common court satisfies.
• Treating the Supreme Court's supervisory role over the judiciary as a power to create courts.

Asked either as an article-to-power match like this one, or in the reverse form, naming the power and asking which authority holds it.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Under which Article of the Constitution may Parliament by law extend the jurisdiction of a High Court to, or exclude it from, a Union Territory?

  • (a)Article 226
  • (b)Article 230
  • (c)Article 231
  • (d)Article 241

  Answer(b) Article 230 — the companion provision to Article 231, which deals with a common High Court for two or more States.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The provision that there shall be a High Court for each State is contained in which Article of the Constitution of India?

  • (a)Article 124
  • (b)Article 214
  • (c)Article 226
  • (d)Article 233

  Answer(b) Article 214 — read with Article 231, which allows one High Court to serve two or more States.