LEH, Oct 18: Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Sunday inaugurated the newly constituted Ladakh bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in Leh, marking a significant step towards improving access to justice in the Union Territory.
Supreme Court Justices M M Sundresh and P S Narasimha, along with Justice Arun Palli and other judges of the High Court, were present at the inauguration. Attorney General for India R Venkatramani and Ladakh Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena also attended the event.
Hearings at the Ladakh bench are scheduled to commence on October 21. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sanjay Parihar is expected to take up five cases on Wednesday.
Justice Parihar will also preside over a single-judge bench on Thursday and Friday.
The High Court has identified a total of 75 cases for listing before the bench in Leh, according to reports.
The Union government approved the establishment of the Ladakh bench in August this year. Subsequently, on October 5, the High Court designated Leh as the venue for its sittings in the Union Territory.
Before the establishment of the Ladakh bench, the High Court operated from its two existing benches in Srinagar and Jammu. The new bench will function as part of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, which serves both Union Territories.
Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory in 2019 following the reorganisation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The establishment of the bench is expected to bring judicial services closer to litigants in Ladakh, where difficult terrain and long travel distances can pose challenges in accessing courts. The move is aimed at making the judicial process more accessible to residents of the region.
