Extension of High Court Jurisdiction to Union Territories
Official heading: “Extension of jurisdiction of High Courts to Union territories.”
- Source edition
- The Constitution of India (as on 1 May 2026)
- Source locator
- Part VI, Article 230, printed pages 107–108
- Last human source-link check
- Not yet checked
- Last human legal review
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1. In One Sentence
Article 230 empowers Parliament by law to extend the jurisdiction of a State High Court to, or exclude it from, any Union territory.
2. What It Means in Everyday Language
Article 230 provides the federal constitutional mechanism for providing High Court coverage to Union Territories that do not possess a separate High Court of their own.
Parliamentary Power: Parliament may by law extend the jurisdiction of a High Court to, or exclude the jurisdiction of a High Court from, any Union territory.
Protection from State Interference: Clause (2) clarifies that where a State High Court exercises jurisdiction over a Union territory, the State Legislature has no power to increase, restrict, or abolish that jurisdiction. Furthermore, references to the Governor in supervisory matters regarding subordinate courts in that territory are construed as references to the President of India.
3. Practical Illustrative Example
Citizens residing in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep or Puducherry require judicial review against executive actions.
4. Important Limits, Qualifications & Exceptions
Article 230 integrates Union Territories into the High Court framework.
- Exclusive parliamentary legislative authority.
- State legislatures barred from altering extraterritorial UT jurisdiction.
- Governor references in supervisory matters replaced by President for UT territories.
- Ensures every citizen in a Union territory enjoys access to constitutional writ jurisdiction.
5. Operative Constitutional Text
6. Sources & Historical Assembly Deliberations
Assembly quotations are withheld until wording, dates, and attribution have been checked against the primary record.
- •Government of India (Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice) • Part VI, Article 230, printed pages 107–108 • Human source-link check pending
Primary PDF accessed and transcribed with AI assistance on 14 October 2026. Formatting and amendment annotation markers are omitted; operative wording is retained. This is not human legal review. Later amendments and commencement notifications have not been comprehensively checked.