Delhi High Court

History

Established in 1919, the High Court of Judicature at Lahore exercised jurisdiction over the then provinces of Punjab and Delhi. This continued until the Indian Independence Act 1947, establishing the dominions of India and Pakistan.

On 15 August 1947 the High Courts (Punjab) Order, 1947 established a new High Court for the territory of what was then East Punjab. The India (Adaptation of Existing Indian Laws) Order, 1947 provided that any reference in an existing Indian law to the High Court of Judicature at Lahore, be replaced by a reference to the High Court of East Punjab.

The High Court of East Punjab started functioning from Shimla in a building called "Peterhoff". This building burnt down in January 1981.

When the Secretariat of the Punjab Government shifted to Chandigarh in 1954–55, the High Court also shifted to Chandigarh. The High Court of Punjab, as it is later came to be called, exercised jurisdiction over Delhi through a Circuit Bench which dealt with the cases pertaining to the Union Territory of Delhi and the Delhi Administration.

In view of the importance of Delhi, its population and other considerations, Indian Parliament thought it was necessary to establish a new High Court of Delhi. This was achieved by enacting the Delhi High Court Act, 1966 on 5 September 1966.

The High Court of Delhi initially exercised jurisdiction not only over the Union Territory of Delhi, but also Himachal Pradesh. The High Court of Delhi had a Himachal Pradesh Bench at Shimla in a building called Ravenswood. The High Court of Delhi continued to exercise jurisdiction over Himachal Pradesh until the State of Himachal Pradesh Act, 1970 was enforced on 25 January 1971.

Chief Justice and Judges

The Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi is appointed by the President of India, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India. During the appointment, the Chief Justice of India is required to consult with two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. For all other High Courts in India, the Chief Justices are appointed by the President of India, as provided under Article 217 of the Constitution, in consultation with the Chief Justice of India and the Governor of the State. The Chief Justice is the senior-most sitting judge of the High Court in a State. Besides performing judicial functions, he/she also exercises administrative powers, as provided under Article 229 of the Constitution of India.

The current Chief Justice of this court is Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya. He was appointed on 21 January 2025.

Judges of the Delhi High Court

The Judges of High Court of Delhi (other than the Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court) are appointed by the President by warrant under his hand and seal after consultation with the Chief Justice of India, and on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Delhi. The Chief Justice of India is required to consult with two senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. The Chief Justice of the High Court is also required to consult his two senior-most puisne Judges before recommending a name for appointment to the High Court. The Judges of the Delhi High Court are guided by the code of ethics as stated in ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial Life’ adopted by the Supreme Court of India, vide its resolution dated 7 May 1997.

Currently, the sanctioned strength of Judges of the High Court of Delhi is 45 permanent Judges and 15 Additional Judges. Following is the list of sitting Judges of the High Court of Delhi:

Original side civil jurisdiction

The High Court of Delhi is territory. This means that civil cases can be filed directly in the High Court, whereas the High Court generally only has appellate civil jurisdiction otherwise. The other High Courts which have original side jurisdiction are Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.

Backlog

As per the report released on 2006–08, Delhi High court has a long list of pending cases. The backlog is such that it would take 466 years to resolve them. In a bid to restore public trust and confidence, Delhi court spent 5 minutes per case and disposed of 94,000 cases in 2008–10.

Former Chief Justices

Judges elevated to Supreme Court

Currently serving

Former Judges

Judges elevated as Chief Justices

District Courts

Main article: Courts in Delhi

The National Capital Territory of Delhi has 7 District Courts Complex that function under the High Court of Delhi. These 7 are physical locations of the district courts, whereas actually there are 11 district courts headed by individual District Judges. The Tis Hazari complex, Rohini complex and Saket complex hosts 2 Districts each, while the Karkardooma complex hosts 3 Districts and the remaining 3 complexes (Patiala, Dwarka and Rouse Avenue) host 1 District each.

The list of 7 District Courts Complex in Delhi is as follows:

Notable cases

Notable cases decided or involving the High Court include:

• Asian News International vs. Wikimedia Foundation
• Naz Foundation v. Govt. of NCT of Delhi
• University of Oxford v. Rameshwari Photocopy Service
• Suresh Kumar Koushal v. Naz Foundation
• Amar Nath Sehgal v. Union of India
• National Legal Services Authority v. Union of India
• Penguin Books Ltd. v. India Book Distributors and Others

References

References

1. (2024-01-21). "History of the High Court of Delhi".
2. (2024-01-21). "FAQs: what is the sources of powers of a High Court?".
3. (2024-01-21). "History of the Delhi High Court".
4. (2024-01-21). "FAQs: How are Chief Justices of High Courts appointed?".
5. (2024-01-21). "FAQs: What is the role of the Chief Justice of the High Court".
6. (2024-01-21). "Chief Justice (CJ) and Sitting Judges".
7. (2024-01-21). "FAQs: How are judges appointed to the High Court of Delhi?".
8. (2024-01-21). "FAQs: Is there a code of ethics for the High Court Judges?".
9. (2024-01-21). "FAQs: How many judges, other than the Chief Justice, does the High Court of Delhi have?".
10. "Chief Justice and sitting Judges of Delhi HC". High Court of Delhi.
11. "Delhi High Court (Original Side) Rules, 2018".
12. "Indian Courts".
13. (30 May 2012). "At 5 minutes per case, Delhi high court clears 94,000 in 2 years". The Times of India.
14. (9 April 2019). "Rouse Avenue court complex opens today". The Times of India.