Madhya Pradesh High Court sits at Jabalpur, with permanent benches at Indore and Gwalior

State Focus Madhya Pradesh Polity Polity & Governance

Madhya Pradesh High Court sits at Jabalpur, with permanent benches at Indore and Gwalior

Background

The High Court of Madhya Pradesh has its principal seat at Jabalpur.
The court traces its descent from the Nagpur High Court, which was established for Central Provinces & Berar by Letters Patent of 1936 issued under Section 108 of the Government of India Act, 1915.
The present state of Madhya Pradesh was constituted under Section 9 of the States Reorganization Act of 1956.
Under that Act the Nagpur High Court was deemed to be the High Court for the new state, so the Nagpur court was not abolished but became the High Court of Madhya Pradesh with its seat at Jabalpur.
Temporary benches at Indore and Gwalior were constituted when the new state came into being.
A Presidential Notification of 1968, issued under Section 51(2) of the States Reorganization Act, established permanent benches of the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Indore and Gwalior.

Principal seat: Jabalpur Permanent benches: Indore and Gwalior Predecessor court: Nagpur High Court Letters Patent constituting the predecessor court: 1936 Statute constituting the present state: States Reorganization Act, 1956

Why it matters for exams: Which city holds a High Court's principal seat and which cities hold its benches is a standard state-judiciary question, and Madhya Pradesh is one of the few High Courts with two permanent benches.

Kerala PSCUPSCSSC

9 October 2026 Source: e-Committee, Supreme Court of India

In plain words

Letters Patent Letters Patent — A formal written order of the Crown by which a court was constituted and given its jurisdiction.

Bench Bench of a High Court — A place away from a High Court's principal seat where some of its judges sit and hear cases.