Difference between Supreme Court and High Court

The government of India comprises three branches: Legislative, Executive and Judiciary. The Indian judiciary is an independent branch; the other two branches cannot interfere in the domain of Judiciary. Thus courts play an important role in protecting the constitution and give judgment or verdict in civil and criminal cases. In India, there are courts at various levels, e.g. Supreme Court at the top level, the High Court at the state level and District Court at the tehsil level.

Supreme Court and the High Court in India are the judicial bodies set up by the Indian Constitution. Supreme Court of India stands at the topmost rank and is the final court of appeal. High Court is the primary judicial body at the state or union territory level. Let us see how Supreme Court differs from High Court!

Supreme Court:

As the name suggests, Supreme Court is the apex judicial body located in the New Delhi, India. It is the highest court of redressal and final court of appeal under Indian Constitution. It has more power than the High Court of a state. A law or order passed by the SC, is binding on all law courts and tribunals in India. The maximum strength of Supreme Court judges is 31 which include one chief justice and 30 other judges. All the Supreme Court judges are appointed by the president of India on the basis of specified criteria.

High Court:

High Court is the highest judicial body at the state or union territory level. Its jurisdiction is restricted to a state, union territory and sometimes two or more states or union territories. Its powers include appellate jurisdiction, original jurisdiction and powers of issuing writ, orders, directories etc.

A high court has one chief justice and several other judges, all are appointed by the President of India after consulting the Chief Justice of India and the State Governor. The verdict declared by a high court is not binding on other high courts of India including lower courts that are not under its jurisdiction.

Based on the above information, some of the key differences between Supreme Court and High Court are as follows:

Supreme Court	High Court
It is the principal court of justice in the country.	It is the highest judicial body of a state that regulates state,s law and order.
It is headed by the chief justice of India.	It is headed by the chief justice of the state.
There is only one Supreme Court in India.	There are total 24 High Courts in India, three of which have jurisdiction in more than one state.
Supreme Court has superintendence over all law courts and tribunals of the country.	The High Court has superintendence over all courts under its jurisdiction.
The judges of Supreme Court are appointed by the President of India.	The judges of the high court are appointed by the president of India after consulting the Chief Justice of India and governor of the respective state.
The judge of the Supreme Court retires at the age of 65 years.	The judge of the high court retires at the age of 62 years.
The judge of Supreme Court cannot plead before any court during his or her tenure or after his or her retirement.	The judge of high court cannot plead before any court during his or her tenure and after retirement cannot plead in a court below the high court.