British Parliament introduced Indian High Courts Act in which year?

Correct — C. The British Parliament passed the Indian High Courts Act in 1861.

It ended the split judicial system: the Crown's Supreme Courts in the presidency towns and the Company's Sadar Adalats in the provinces were merged into one High Court for each presidency.

The courts themselves were then established at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1862 by letters patent issued under the Act.

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  1859 — 1859 is too early. The Crown took over direct rule in 1858 and Parliament followed with the courts legislation in 1861, not in the year between.
• (b)
  1860 — 1860 is the year of the Indian Penal Code, which is the most attractive substitution here. The IPC is a separate statute.
• (d)
  1858 — 1858 is the Government of India Act, which transferred power from the East India Company to the Crown. The courts were reorganised three years afterwards.

Before 1861 British India carried two unconnected judicial hierarchies.

The Crown ran Supreme Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras; the Company ran the Sadar Diwani and Sadar Nizamat Adalats in the provinces. Litigants and jurisdictions overlapped confusingly.

The Indian High Courts Act, 1861 empowered the Crown to create by letters patent a single High Court in each presidency, with jurisdiction over English and Indian subjects alike.

That design, one High Court for each province under a superior appellate authority, is the ancestor of the High Courts that Article 214 provides for today.

Key facts

• The Indian High Courts Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1861.
• It merged the Supreme Courts and the Sadar Adalats into one High Court for each presidency.
• High Courts were established at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras in 1862 under the Act.
• The Government of India Act 1858 transferred power from the East India Company to the Crown.

Common traps

• 1858 and 1861 sit three years apart and both belong to the reorganisation after the Revolt of 1857.
• The Indian Penal Code of 1860 falls between them and is the wrong year candidates reach for.

No directly related past PYQ was found.