When were High Courts established in Bombay, Madras and Calcutta?

The correct answer is A) 1861. The Indian High Courts Act, 1861 gave the Crown power to set up High Courts in the presidency towns. Letters Patent issued that year established the High Courts at Calcutta, Bombay and Madras, replacing the old Supreme Courts and Sadar Adalats. Formal functioning began a little later, in 1862, so you may see 1862 in some sources, but the establishment year asked here is 1861.

• B) 1851: No High Court was created in this year. The Supreme Courts and Sadar Adalats still existed.
• C) 1871: Wrong. By 1871 the three presidency High Courts were already well established. Allahabad's court came in 1866, which is also not an option here.
• D) 1881: Wrong. This is far too late for these courts.

The core concept is colonial judicial reform: the unification of the old Supreme Court and Sadar Adalat systems into High Courts with appellate and superintendence powers. For Mains, this links to the evolution of the Indian judiciary and the constitutional provisions on High Courts in Articles 214 to 231.

Trap: Candidates often confuse the Act year with the year of the Supreme Courts (1774) or with the later inauguration dates, and pick 1862 or 1774 by mistake.