Matters at Hon’ble High Court:

Establishment of Hon’ble High Court:

Calcutta High Court is the oldest High
Court in India. It was established on
1st July, 1862 under the High Court’s
Act,1861. It has jurisdiction over the
State of West Bengal & the Union
Territory of Andaman & Nicobar
Islands. Sanctioned Judge strength is
72. Ashis Kumar Gupta
 Jurisdiction of the High Court’s:

• The jurisdiction of each high court depends on the letters

Patent issued by her Majesty. She could give them power to
exercise all civil, criminal, intestate, testamentary, admiralty
and matrimonial jurisdiction. She could also confer on them
original and appellate jurisdiction and all such powers and
authority with respect to the administration of justice in
the presidency, as she thought fit. Thus High Courts were
given the following original and appellate jurisdiction.

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• 1. Original jurisdiction: The
court had original jurisdiction
in the following matters:
• (a) Civil Jurisdiction and
• (b) Criminal Jurisdiction
• (a) Civil Jurisdiction: The
Original Civil Jurisdiction of
the court was of two types:-
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• Ordinary Civil Jurisdiction: The
Ordinary Civil Jurisdiction extended to
the town of Calcutta and such local
limit as from time to time could be
prescribed by law of a competent
legislature in British India. All suits of
the value of Rs. 100 or more and
which were not cognizable by the
small court at Calcutta were
cognizable under High Courts.
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• Further, the ordinary civil jurisdiction
could be invoked only if:
• Ø The movable property was situated
within the town of Calcutta;
• Ø The cause of action wholly or partly
arose in Calcutta;
• Ø The defendant was carrying on
business or working for gain in Calcutta.
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• Extra Ordinary Civil Jurisdiction: Extra
Ordinary Civil Jurisdiction provides
that the High Court could call a case
pending in any lower court subject to
its superintendence and could decide
that case itself. This jurisdiction could
be exercised in a case where the
parties agreed to such exercise or the
High Court thought it proper to impart
justice. Ashis Kumar Gupta
• Criminal Jurisdiction: It is of two types also:-
• Ordinary Original Criminal Jurisdiction: In
exercise of its Ordinary Original Criminal
Jurisdiction the High Court was empowered to
try all persons brought before it in due course of
law. This jurisdiction was made available over
the native criminals and crimes committed with
the local limits of the presidency towns and
beyond this limit over the Britishers and
Europeans as the Supreme Court used to enjoy
the jurisdiction over them before the
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• ii. Extra Ordinary Original Criminal
Jurisdiction: The High Courts were to have
extra Ordinary Original Criminal Jurisdiction
which was not enjoyed by the High Court.
Under this jurisdiction the High Court hear any
criminal case against any person within the
cognizance of any court which was subject to
the superintendence of the High Court. If such
case was referred to the high court by the
advocate general or by any magistrate or any
other officer specially empowered for that
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• Revenue Jurisdiction: The High Court
was given jurisdiction to here revenue
cases also which were precluded from
the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court
by the Act of Settlement, 1781.
• Admiralty Jurisdiction: The admiralty
and vice-admiralty jurisdiction was also
given to the high court.
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• Testamentary and miscellaneous
jurisdiction: The High Courts were
given similar testamentary, intestate
and probate jurisdiction as was
enjoyed by the Supreme Court. It
also worked as the court of words for
the administration of the estate and
persons (lunatics, idiots and minors).
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• Appellate Jurisdiction: The appellate
jurisdiction of the High Court was of two
types:-
• (a) Civil Jurisdiction: The High Court could
hear appeals in all cases authorised by any
law or regulation.
• (b) Criminal Jurisdiction: The High Court had
criminal jurisdiction in all cases decided by the
subordinate courts to it. It could also
entertain revisions against the decision of the
lower court and reference from them.
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• At the Hon’ble High Court writ
Petitions may be filed before the
Appellate Side or Original Side
depending on whether the Address of
the Petitioners/defendants fall within
the Appellate Jurisdiction or Original
Jurisdiction of Calcutta high Court
respectively or whether extra-ordinary
original jurisdiction is being invoked.
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• Some relevant terms relating to
Rules of Original Side/Appellate
Side:
• i)Application (Original Side): Shall
have the same meaning as “Petition”
and would mean the main application
or petition to initiate any proceeding
in the original jurisdiction of High
Court. Ashis Kumar Gupta
• Application(Appellate Side):Means the main
Application to initiate proceeding for Civil
Order or Criminal Misc.Cases or Civil or
Criminal Revisional Jurisdiction of the High
Court and would include contempt
applications.
• ii) Memo Of Appeal :Means Memo of Appeal
either for Civil or Constitutional Writ
Jurisdiction of the Original Side or A memo of
appeal for Civil, Criminal or Mandamus
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• iii)Petition-Means the main petition to initiate
or invoke the Constitutional Jurisdiction of the
High Court as well as Contempt Proceedings
and is defined in Appellate side Rules.
• iv)Interlocutory Application-Applies to
Appellate/Original Side Rules and means any
application other than as mentioned
above/before.
• v)Plaint-Includes any pleading initiating a
proceeding under the provisions of law as in
force and as applies to Original Side Rules.
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 Absolute Necessary Articles of
Constitution of India relating to
powers of Hon’ble High Court:
• Article 226 : Vide this Article, High Court
has the power to issue to any person/
authority/ Government, direction, order,
writs for enforcement of rights
conferred in Part III(Fundamental Rights)
of the Constitution of India or for any
other purpose.
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Types of Writs:
i)Habeas Corpus: The writ is issued to
produce a person who has been
detained,either in prison or in private
custody, before the Court and release him
if the detention is illegal
i)Mandamus: Command from High Court to
Lower Courts, Tribunal, Public Authority to
perform statutory duty.
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• ii) Certiorari: The Writ is issued quashing
the order passed by inferior Court, Tribunal,
Quasi-Judicial Authority
• iv)Prohibition: Issued prohibiting any
inferior Court/Quasi-Judicial Authority from
continuing the proceeding of a particular
case where it has no jurisdiction.
• v)Quo Warranto:The writ is issued to
restrain a person from holding public office
to which he is not entitled.
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• Article 227: Confers the power of
Superintendence over all Courts by the
High Court; it can be invoked to correct
errors of jurisdiction but not to upset
findings of the fact. Under this Article the
High Court may call for returns from
lower Courts. High Court may make and
issue Rules and prescribe forms regarding
the practice and proceedings of lower
Courts. Ashis Kumar Gupta
• However, the Article does not confer the power of
superintendence over any Court/Tribunal
constituted under law relating to Armed Forces.
• The primary concern of the of the State
Respondent/Petitioners in respect of dealing with
Original/Appellate Side issues is in the procedure of
engagement of State Advocate. In case of petition
filed before the Original Jurisdiction, the
engagement of State Advocate is dealt with by the
office of Ld. AOR, W.B while for petitions filed
before the Appellate Side, the engagement of State
Advocate is dealt with by the office of Ld. Legal
Remembrancer, W.B. Ashis Kumar Gupta
 Of the various types of cases, the most
frequent types that are needed to be
dealt with are:
• W.P(Writ Petition): These may be filed
before the Ld. Single Bench in respect of
matters relating to MM(D&R) Act and/or
in respect of other Act(s) also if the
Petitioners seek relief in the form of
issuance of Writs (Certiorari, Prohibition,
Mandamus ,etc.) Ashis Kumar Gupta
• WPLRT: These are Writ Petitions
filed before the Hon’ble Division
Bench of High Court by the
Petitioners who are aggrieved with
the judgment of LRTT as passed in
OA/TA, etc.; there is no time limit
for filing these Writs.

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• COLRT: The supervisory jurisdiction
conferred on the High Courts under
Article 227 of the Constitution is
limited to seeing that an inferior
Court or Tribunal functions within
the limits of its authority, and not
to correct an error apparent on the
face of the record, or anything that
is much less than an error of law.
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• These are Writ Petitions filed before
the Hon’ble Division Bench of High
Court under Article 227 of the
Constitution by the Petitioners who are
aggrieved with the judgment of the
Hon’ble WBLRTT passed in OA/TA, etc.
as while passing the judgment the
Hon’ble Tribunal has surpassed its
jurisdiction; there is no time limit for
filing these Writs.
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However, the power of supervisory
jurisdiction does not vest the High
Court with any unlimited prerogative to
correct all species of hardship or wrong
decisions made within the limits of the
jurisdiction of the Court or Tribunal and
therefore, it must be restricted to grave
derelictions of duty and flagrant abuse
of fundamental principle of law or
justice. Ashis Kumar Gupta
• WPST: These are Writ Petitions filed
before the Hon’ble Division Bench of
High Court by the Petitioners who are
aggrieved with the judgment of
WBAT as passed in OA, MA, etc.; here
also there is no time limit.
• SA: Second Appeal; these arise out of
judgment of Ld. Addl. District Judge in
Title Appeals. Ashis Kumar Gupta
• CAN: These are normally Civil
Applications filed in connection with
any already filed W.P/ FMAT, etc
• CPAN- (i) Contempt Application
(Appellate Side)
(ii) CC-Contempt of Court
Cases (Original side)

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• RVW-Review Petitions, these are
filed seeking review/recalling of
any order as passed by Hon’ble
High Court.
• CRR- Criminal Revision
• CR- Civil Revision
• WP.CRC-Civil Rule (Contempt)
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• APO-Appeal from Order (Original
side)
• CP-Company Petition (Original Side)
• CA- (Company Applications (Original
Side)
• CO-Civil Misc.Case (Civil Order)
(Appellate Side) (Special
mentionable- CO.LRT)
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• FMAT: Admission of Civil
Appeal from Order
• MAT: Tender of Mandamus
Appeal

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• As per WBLR Manual’91, the Law-Cell
of DLLRO is a body constituted and
such law-cell is entrusted with duties of
engagement of State Advocate, filing of
appeals, etc; but ROs at Block as also
BLLROs are required to maintain close
liaison with the district law-cell who in
turn need to keep close liaison with the
law-cell at Directorate.
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 Introduction to some terms as are acquainted
with functioning at Law-Cell:

• Brief-history: Since meeting the Ld.

State Advocate appearing for State
Respondents in a particular case, we
need to prepare a brief history of the
matter as represented via
Application/ Petition.
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• Statement Of facts: Based on the
depiction of events as enumerated
para-wise in the Petition/
Application/ Memo of Appeal, etc, we
need to prepare and present to the
Ld. State Advocate a statement of
facts para-wise itself based on office
records and provisions of law.
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• List of Dates: An attempt to
chronologically set out the
various events as are incidental
to the filing of the Petition and
its adjudication.

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• Grounds of Appeal: If we are
aggrieved with the order of a
particular Court and are considering
preferring appeal at higher forum,
we need to prepare grounds of
appeal based on law points as are
apparently overlooked/
misinterpreted by the trial Court.
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• Affidavit-in-Opposition: If directed by
Hon’ble High Court, we may need to file
an affidavit opposing the contentions of
the Petition and based on such Written
Affidavit affirmed before the
Commissioner of Oaths at High Court as
also based on oral pleadings by the
Ld.Advocate appearing, Hon’ble High
Court moves to dispose the Petition,etc.
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• Affidavit-in-Reply: If we are the
Petitioner, then Hon’ble Court
may permit Opposition to be
filed by the Respondents and we
may get the chance to file Reply
to such Opposition.

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• Special Caution is needed while filing
these Affidavits for the disposal of the
Case depends on facts and statements
as in Affidavit and High Court being a
Court of Records vide Art.215 of
Constitution of India its acts/
proceedings are enrolled for perpetual
memory and testimony.
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 Contempt of Court

• Contempt of court is behavior that oppose

s or defies the authority, justice and
dignity of the court.
Contempt charges may be brought against
parties to proceedings; lawyers or other
court officers or personnel; jurors;
witnesses; or people who insert
themselves in a case, such as protesters
outside a courtroom.
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• Courts have great leeway in making co
ntempt charges, and thus confusion so
metimes exists about the distinctions
between types of contempt. Generally,
however, contempt proceedings are
categorized as civil or criminal, and dir
ect or indirect. Acquaintance with the
Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 is
required.
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 Business of Court
• Of all the Courts as function at High
Court some are Single Bench being
managed by a single Hon’ble Justice but
there are also Division Benches
comprising of at least 2 judges.
• The daily as well as monthly schedule of
the Courts at High Court are published in
the form of Daily List/ Monthly List.
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• In respect of all various types of appeals that are
filed at various levels, officers should keep
themselves acquainted with the provision of
Sec.5 of Limitation Act,1963 and/or Sec.10 of
WBLRTT Act,1997, etc., because the period(s) of
limitation in respect of filing of various
appeals/review, etc. are detailed in such
sections. We may need to contest the prayers for
condonation of delay to appeal, if appeal is
preferred by individual petitioner or may also
need to describe the reasons for delay, if delay is
caused in preferring appeal on our part.
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• Besides, all these issues at various
Courts, there may be occasions to go
to Hon’ble Supreme Court also in
connection with Appeals as arise
from the order(s) of Division Bench of
Hon’ble High Court and then
procurement of Certified Copy of the
order is a primary duty.
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For Obtaining Certified Copy of Judgments
Pronounced By The Hon’ble High Court

• Application is to be made to the

Ld. Legal Remembrancer,
Government of West Bengal, 2 & 3
Kiran Shankar Roy Road, 5th Floor,
Kolkata- 700001.
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• To mention-
(i) Case Number
(ii) Cause Title
(iii) Bench
(iv)Order date

• A copy of the application may be

forwarded to the Directorate.
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Thank You
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