- published: 17 Oct 2012
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The term High Court usually refers to the superior court (or supreme court) of a country or state. In some countries, it is the highest court (e.g. Australia). In others, it is positioned lower in the hierarchy of courts (e.g. in England & Wales).
Alphabetically by name of associated country:
The Chief Justice of India is the highest-ranking judge in the Supreme Court of India, and thus holds the highest judicial position in India. As well as presiding in the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice also head its administrative functions.
The current Chief Justice is S. H. Kapadia, who has held the office since 12th May 2010.
As the chief judge, the Chief Justice is responsible for the allocation of cases and appointment of constitutional benches which deal with important matters of law. In accordance with Article 145 of the Constitution of India and the Supreme Court Rules of Procedure of 1966, the Chief Justice allocates work to the other judges, who are bound to refer the matter back to him or her in case they require the matter to be looked into by a bench of higher strength.
On the administrative side, the Chief Justice carries out the following functions:
Article 124 of the Constitution of India provides for the manner of appointing judges to the Supreme Court. However, no specific provision is made as to the appointment of the Chief Justice; as a result, the latter is appointed in the same manner as for the other judges to the Supreme Court.