CJI Surya Kant inaugurates J&K High Court's Ladakh bench in Leh

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Sunday inaugurated Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court's newly constituted Ladakh bench in Leh.

Supreme Court Justices MM Sundresh, PS Narasimha and Arun Palli, along with judges of the High Court, were also present on the occasion.

Attorney General for India R Venkatramani and Ladakh Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena also attended the event.

Hearing of cases at the Ladakh bench will commence from October 21.

A division bench of 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 bench and hear cases on Thursday and Friday as well.

The High Court has identified a total of 75 cases for listing before the bench situated in Leh.

The Union government had approved the establishment of the Ladakh bench for the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in August this year. Following the decision, the High Court on October 5 selected Leh as the place for holding sittings of the High Court in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

Before the establishment of the Ladakh bench, the High Court had two benches at Srinagar and Jammu.

Ladakh bench will be part of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, as it currently serves both Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.

Ladakh was carved out as a separate Union Territory in 2019 following the reorganisation of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.

The decision to establish a bench in Ladakh is aimed at bringing High Court services closer to litigants in Ladakh, where geographical distances can make access to judicial institutions more difficult.