Which of the following states does not have a Legislative Council?

The correct answer is B, the Calcutta High Court. It was established in July 1862 under the Indian High Courts Act of 1861, which allowed the Crown to replace the old supreme courts and sadar courts of the Presidency towns with High Courts. Its jurisdiction today extends over West Bengal and the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Option A is wrong because the Bombay High Court, although also created in 1862, was established in August, a few weeks after Calcutta, and it now covers Maharashtra, Goa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Option C is wrong because the Madras High Court was likewise established in August 1862 and is the third of the group, serving Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Option D is wrong because the Allahabad High Court came later, in 1866, sitting first at Agra and moving to Allahabad, now Prayagraj, in 1875.

The correct answer is C, Kochi. The Kerala High Court sits at Kochi, in the Ernakulam area, although the capital of the state is Thiruvananthapuram. Its territorial jurisdiction covers the state of Kerala and the union territory of Lakshadweep, an arrangement permitted by Article 230, which allows the jurisdiction of a High Court to be extended to a union territory. Option A is wrong because Thiruvananthapuram is the seat of the Governor and the legislature but not of the High Court, and this gap between capital and court is exactly what the question tests. Option B is wrong because Kozhikode, the old Calicut, has no High Court, though it has district courts. Option D is wrong because Thrissur is known as the cultural capital of Kerala and for the Thrissur Pooram festival, not for the High Court.

The correct answer is B, Article 214. It states plainly that there shall be a High Court for each state, and the following articles complete the scheme: Article 215 makes every High Court a court of record, Article 216 leaves the number of judges to the President, Article 217 provides for their appointment, and Article 231 allows a common High Court for two or more states or union territories. Option A is wrong because Article 124 establishes the Supreme Court of India and provides for the appointment of its judges. Option C is wrong because Article 226 confers on a High Court the power to issue writs, which is a power of the court and not the provision creating it. Option D is wrong because Article 239 deals with the administration of union territories by an Administrator appointed by the President.

The correct answer is B, Article 169. It empowers Parliament by law to abolish an existing Legislative Council or to create one where none exists, but only if the Legislative Assembly of the state first passes a resolution supported by a majority of the total membership of the House and by not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting. Such a law is not treated as a constitutional amendment under Article 368. Option A is wrong because Article 168 merely says what a state legislature consists of, the Governor with one house or two. Option C is wrong because Article 171 lays down the size and composition of a Council once it exists. Option D is wrong because Article 172 fixes the duration of the houses, giving the Assembly five years and making the Council a permanent body that is not subject to dissolution.

The correct answer is A, Chandigarh. Chandigarh is the capital of both Punjab and Haryana and is itself a union territory, and the common High Court for the two states and for the union territory sits there. A common High Court of this kind is permitted by Article 231, under which Parliament may establish one High Court for two or more states or union territories; the Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, Kerala and Guwahati High Courts cover more than one territory in the same way. Option B is wrong because Amritsar has no High Court, though it is the site of the Harmandir Sahib. Option C is wrong because Gurugram is an industrial and corporate centre of Haryana with district courts only. Option D is wrong because Patiala was once the capital of PEPSU but has no High Court today.