Ladakh Gets Its First Permanent High Court Bench in Leh, CJI Surya Kant to Inaugurate Facility

Ladakh is set to take a major step towards improving access to justice, with Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant scheduled to inaugurate the Union Territory’s first permanent bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in Leh on Sunday.

The new bench is expected to bring judicial services closer to residents, particularly those living in remote and far-flung areas who have long faced difficulties travelling to Jammu or Srinagar to seek legal relief. Harsh weather, difficult terrain and long distances have often made access to higher judicial institutions challenging for people in the region.

Ladakh Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra described the development as a significant achievement, saying residents seeking judicial intervention, including through writ petitions, would no longer need to travel outside the Union Territory to approach the High Court.

The inauguration will be attended by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, along with four other Supreme Court judges, the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, other High Court judges, and the Attorney General of India, Kundra said.

Highlighting the unusual nature of the initiative, the Chief Secretary said he did not recall a similar permanent sitting bench being established for another High Court in this manner over the past four decades. He cited the Gauhati High Court’s benches in Arunachal Pradesh as an example of a comparable arrangement.

Kundra said the initiative had taken shape within just two months and was not among the demands raised by Ladakh representatives during their discussions with the Centre. He described it as a government of India initiative aimed at addressing the region’s geographical and logistical challenges.

The legal framework for the permanent bench came into force on September 5, following a regulation promulgated by President Droupadi Murmu on August 27. The Lieutenant Governor subsequently notified September 5 as the date on which the regulation would take effect.

Saxena has described the establishment of the bench as a historic step towards making justice more accessible to the people of Ladakh, expressing gratitude to the President, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

The new facility is expected to reduce the burden of long-distance travel for litigants and make access to the High Court more practical for people living across the mountainous Union Territory.