⚖️ High Court & Judicial System

Allahabad High Court — Overview

The Allahabad High Court is one of the oldest and most significant High Courts in India. It exercises jurisdiction over the entire state of Uttar Pradesh.

Feature	Detail
Established	24 March 1866
Principal seat	Prayagraj (Allahabad)
Bench	Lucknow Bench (established 1948)
Distinction	Often noted as the High Court with the highest sanctioned judge strength
Sanctioned judges	160

The High Court was originally called the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad and was established under the framework created by the Indian High Courts Act, 1861, with the actual establishment taking place in 1866.

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Historical Background

The judicial system in the United Provinces evolved through several stages:

Year	Development
1831	Sadar Diwani Adalat and Sadar Nizamat Adalat established at Allahabad
1866	Allahabad High Court established — merged the two Sadar Adalats
1948	Lucknow Bench of the High Court established
2000	Uttaranchal (now Uttarakhand) carved out — separate Nainital High Court created

Exam Tip: Before 2000, the Allahabad High Court also had jurisdiction over what is now Uttarakhand. The Nainital Bench became the independent Uttarakhand High Court in 2000.

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Principal Seat — Prayagraj

The principal seat at Prayagraj handles cases from most districts of UP. The imposing High Court building, built in Indo-Saracenic architecture, is a landmark of Prayagraj city.

Lucknow Bench

The Lucknow Bench was created in 1948 to provide easier access to justice for litigants from the Awadh-Central UP side of the state. It hears cases from a defined set of notified districts.

Seat	Districts Covered
Prayagraj (Principal)	Most districts of Uttar Pradesh outside the Lucknow Bench jurisdiction
Lucknow Bench	Lucknow Bench-notified districts of central / Awadh region

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Composition and Appointment

Feature	Detail
Chief Justice	Appointed by the President of India (in consultation with CJI and Governor)
Judges	Appointed by the President on recommendation of the Collegium system
Retirement age	62 years
Qualifications	Citizen of India, 10 years as advocate in High Court OR 10 years in judicial service

The High Court has both original jurisdiction (for writ petitions under Article 226) and appellate jurisdiction (appeals from subordinate courts).

For exams, the most important conceptual point is:

• Article 32 is linked with the Supreme Court
• Article 226 is linked with the High Court
• the High Court can issue writs not only for fundamental rights, but also for other legal rights

Writ Jurisdiction (Article 226)

The High Court can issue five types of writs to protect fundamental rights and for other purposes:

Writ	Purpose
Habeas Corpus	Release of illegally detained person
Mandamus	Directing a public authority to perform its duty
Certiorari	Quashing an order of a lower court/tribunal
Prohibition	Preventing a lower court from exceeding jurisdiction
Quo Warranto	Questioning a person's right to hold public office

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Subordinate Courts

Below the High Court, UP has a multi-layered subordinate court system:

Court	Head	Jurisdiction
District & Sessions Court	District Judge / Sessions Judge	Highest court at district level; civil and criminal cases
Civil Courts	Civil Judge (Senior/Junior Division)	Property disputes, contracts, civil suits
Criminal Courts	Chief Judicial Magistrate, Judicial Magistrate	Criminal cases below Sessions Court level
Family Courts	Family Court Judge	Divorce, maintenance, custody, domestic disputes

• The District Judge is the highest judicial authority at the district level.
• As Sessions Judge, the same officer tries serious criminal cases (murder, robbery, etc.) and can award sentences up to life imprisonment or death (subject to High Court confirmation for death sentences).

This dual designation is a high-yield exam point:

• District Judge = civil side
• Sessions Judge = criminal side

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Revenue Courts

UP has a parallel system of revenue courts that deal with land and agrarian disputes:

Court	Officer
Board of Revenue	Chairman (highest revenue court in UP)
Commissioner's Court	Divisional Commissioner
Collector's Court	District Collector/DM
Tehsildar's Court	Tehsildar

• The Board of Revenue, Prayagraj is the apex revenue court. It hears final appeals in land revenue and tenancy matters.
• Revenue courts handle mutation, land partition, tenancy disputes, and land ceiling cases.

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Lok Adalat System

Lok Adalats (People's Courts) provide alternative dispute resolution — settling cases through compromise and conciliation rather than adversarial litigation.

Feature	Detail
Legal basis	Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987
Court fee	No court fee
Appeal	No appeal against Lok Adalat decisions — they are final and binding
Cases handled	Motor accident claims, matrimonial disputes, compoundable criminal cases, bank recovery

• Permanent Lok Adalats exist for public utility services (electricity, transport, telecom, insurance).
• UP holds National Lok Adalats (quarterly), where thousands of cases are settled in a single day across all districts.

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Legal Services Authority

The UP State Legal Services Authority (UPSLSA), headquartered in Prayagraj, provides free legal aid to eligible persons:

Eligible Category
SC/ST members
Women and children
Persons with disabilities
Victims of trafficking
Industrial workers
Persons earning below prescribed income limit

• At the district level, the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) operates under the chairmanship of the District Judge.
• Taluka Legal Services Committees function at the tehsil level.

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Consumer Forums

Level	Forum
District	District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
State	UP State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Lucknow
National	National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Delhi

Consumer forums operate under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

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Summary Cheat Sheet

Exam Fact	Answer
Allahabad HC established	1866
Lucknow Bench established	1948
Sanctioned judge strength	160
Key distinction	Principal seat at Prayagraj + Lucknow Bench
HC judge retirement age	62 years
Writ jurisdiction article	Article 226
Five writs	Habeas Corpus, Mandamus, Certiorari, Prohibition, Quo Warranto
Highest revenue court in UP	Board of Revenue, Prayagraj
Lok Adalat appeal	No appeal (final & binding)
Consumer Protection Act	2019