Indian High Courts Act 1861

Indian High Courts Act 1861
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act for establishing High Courts of Judicature in India.
Citation24 & 25 Vict. c. 104
Territorial extent 
Dates
Royal assent6 August 1861
Commencement6 August 1861
Repealed1 January 1916
Other legislation
Amended byStatute Law Revision Act 1878
Repealed byGovernment of India Act 1915
Relates to
Status: Repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Indian High Courts Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 104) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom to authorize the Crown to create High Courts in the Indian colony. Queen Victoria created the High Courts in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay by letters patent in 1862. These High Courts would become the precursors to the High Courts in the modern day India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. The act was passed after the First War of Independence of 1857 and consolidated the parallel legal systems of the Crown and the East India Company.

The act was passed alongside the Indian Civil Service Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 54) and the Indian Councils Act 1861 (24 & 25 Vict. c. 67).