Jammu & Kashmir High Court Bar Association at Jammu has urged the Union Territory (UT) government to establish the recently-announced Jammu & Kashmir National Law University (NLU) in Jammu province instead of Kashmir valley.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah in October 2025 had announced that the UT's first NLU would commence operations from April 2026 through a temporary campus at Ompora in Budgam with an allocation of ₹50 crore.

In a detailed representation to the Chief Minister, the Bar Association, through its President Senior Advocate K Nirmal Kishore Kotwal and Treasurer Rahul Aggarwal said that locating the institution exclusively or primarily in Kashmir would perpetuate regional imbalance.

It claimed that students from Jammu and other parts of the country may face logistical, climatic and accessibility challenges in case the NLU is located in Kashmir valley.

The Bar Association, thus, suggested that a full-fledged NLU campus be established in Jammu province and that the proposed Budgam facility can be treated as a satellite or interim campus if required.

The representation said that Jammu is a "major educational and connectivity hub" already hosting institutions such as the University of Jammu, IIT Jammu and IIM Jammu, and offers year-round accessibility, and favourable weather conditions

Establishing the NLU’s main campus and headquarters in Jammu, the Association argued, would align with the post-reorganization vision of inclusive growth and regional justice.

Expressing confidence in the Chief Minister’s leadership, the association stated that such a decision would promote unity, fairness and holistic development across the UT, while empowering aspiring legal professionals from Jammu with access to world-class legal education closer to home.