The Gauhati High Court is a constitutional institution and the highest court of appeal for the states of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Arunachal Pradesh, with its principal seat in Guwahati, Assam. Its origin traces back to the High Court of Assam, which was established on April 5, 1948, following the Assam High Court Order, 1948, promulgated by the Governor-General of India under the powers of the Government of India Act, 1935. The problem it solved was the need for an accessible, independent judicial authority for the then-province of Assam, which was previously under the distant jurisdiction of the Calcutta High Court.
The court's mechanism is defined by its unique structure as a common High Court for multiple states, a feature connected to Article 214 of the Constitution, which provides for a High Court for each state, and the subsequent power of Parliament to establish a common High Court for two or more states. It was renamed the Gauhati High Court in 1971 by the North-Eastern Areas (Reorganisation) Act, 1971, which established it as a common High Court for seven states and Union Territories.
The court works through its principal seat and three permanent outlying benches: the Kohima Bench for Nagaland (established December 1, 1972), the Aizawl Bench for Mizoram (established July 5, 1990), and the Itanagar Bench for Arunachal Pradesh (established August 12, 2000). A significant change occurred on March 23, 2013, when the court's jurisdiction ceased over Meghalaya, Manipur, and Tripura, as separate High Courts were established for those states, leaving the Gauhati High Court with its current four-state jurisdiction. The court exercises original, appellate, and writ jurisdiction, including over District Council Courts established under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.