The Gujarat High Court is the High Court of the state of Gujarat. It was established on 1 May 1960 under the Bombay Re-organisation Act, 1960 after the state of Gujarat split from Bombay State.
This High Court was established on 1 May 1960 as a result of bifurcation of the former State of Bombay into two States of Maharashtra and Gujarat. The High Court started functioning near Akashwani, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad. The High Court had later shifted to the new building at Sarkhej - Gandhinagar Highway, Sola, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, from 16 January 1999.
Jurisdiction
The Gujarat High Court has jurisdiction over the entire state of Gujarat and on all district, administrative and other courts in Gujarat. This high court is a Court of record and empowered to punish anyone for contempt of court.
Powers
Unlike Union Judiciary, the state judiciary possesses wide powers which include powers such as Appellate, Second Appellate in some cases, Revisionary, Review etc. It also has power to issue various writs to courts and authorities under its jurisdiction. Intra-Court appeals, when permissible under Clause - 15 of Letters Patent, also lie within the same court from decision of a Single Judge to a Division Bench which comprises two Judges. It has power of superintendence on all courts under it under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. The High Courts are also empowered to hear Public Interest Litigations.
The high court is headed by the Chief Justice on administrative side. They are appointed by President of India under warrant. However, the president is required to consult the Governor of Gujarat and the Chief Justice of India before making such appointment. The Governor of Gujarat administers the oath of office at the time of appointment. The present Chief Justice of the court is Justice Sunita Agarwal. Various benches are constituted depending upon the requirements of that High Court. These benches usually consist of division benches (two judges) and benches presided over by single judges. A roster is maintained by the High Court to assign the matters between various benches. Chief Justices in all the High Courts as also the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court are masters of the roster.
Judges
All judges of the high court are appointed by the President of India after recommendation by the Supreme Court Collegium. They hold constitutional post and there are ample safeguards provided in the constitution to ensure the independence of the judiciary. Any judge can resign by writing to the President of India. Terms of appointment of judges cannot be altered to their disadvantage after their appointment.
Qualifications
The following are qualifications to be judge of Gujarat High Court or any other High Court in India.
The individual must be citizen of India
The individual must have held a judicial office in India for at least ten years; or
Been advocate in any high court or two or more courts in succession for at least 10 years.
The High Court of Gujarat was pioneer in the country to live stream its proceedings. After successful implementation of live proceedings of its benches, the High Court also began live streaming of proceedings of the Principal District Courts across the state from February, 2023.
The Bench
The present strength of Gujarat High court is 35 against sanctioned strength of 52 posts which includes 39 permanent posts and 13 additional posts.[1][2][3]
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