CJI Surya Kant Inaugurates the Ladakh Bench of the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court at Leh

18 October 2026National

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant inaugurated the Ladakh Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at Melongthang in Leh on 18 October 2026, giving the Union Territory its first permanent High Court bench at an altitude of about 3,500 metres. Supreme Court judges M. M. Sundresh and P. S. Narasimha, High Court Chief Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati, Attorney General R. Venkataramani and Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena attended. Three digital services were launched — an e-Filing Portal, a Document Management System and an Online Recruitment Portal — alongside a Green Wall initiative and solar installations at 11 judicial sites.

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The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is the common High Court for the two Union Territories, with its principal seats at Srinagar and Jammu | Article 214 provides a High Court for each state and Article 231 allows a common High Court for two or more states or Union Territories | Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature on 31 October 2019 under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019

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