The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is the common high court for union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu ...

. It was established as the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on 26 March 1928 by the

Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir The Dogra dynasty of Dogra Rajputs from the Shiwalik Himalayas created Jammu and Kashmir when all dynastic kingdoms in India were being absorbed by the East India Company. Events led the Sikh Empire to recognise Jammu as a vassal state in 1820, ...

. The seat of the court shifts between the summer capital Srinagar and winter capital

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

. The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 17, 13 of whom are permanent judges, and 4 are additional judges. , the chief justice of the court is Hon'ble Shri Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey.

History

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir was established by Order No. 1, issued by

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

Hari Singh Maharaja Sir Hari Singh (September 1895 – 26 April 1961) was the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. Hari Singh was the son of Amar Singh and Bhotiali Chib. In 1923, following his uncle's death, Singh became ...

on 26 March 1928. The Maharaja appointed Lala Kanwar Sain as the first chief justice, and Lala

Bodh Raj Sawhney Bodh Raj Sawhney was a judge of the first High Court of Jammu and Kashmir upon its establishment in March 1928. He was appointed as a puisne judge, along with Khan Bahadur Aga Syed Hussain. References

Indian legal scholars 20th-century ...

and Khan Sahib Aga Syed Hussain as

puisne judge A puisne judge or puisne justice (; from french: puisné or ; , 'since, later' + , 'born', i.e. 'junior') is a dated term for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. Use The term is used almost exclusively in common law ...

s. The High Court sat at both the winter capital of

, and the summer capital of Srinagar. The Maharaja conferred letters patent on the High Court on 10 September 1943. Puisne judge Khan Sahib Aga Syed Hussain was the first Muslim judge of the High Court. He retired as Home and Judicial Minister of Jammu and Kashmir during the Maharaja Rule. In August 2018, the High Court got its first and second woman judges with Justice Sindhu Sharma, who was appointed a judge, and Justice Gita Mittal, who was appointed the chief justice. In August 2019, a Reorganisation Bill was passed by both houses of the Indian Parliament. This bill reorganised the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories— Jammu and Kashmir and

—as of 31 October 2019. After this reorganisation, the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir continued serving as the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh for both union territories. Hon'ble Shri Justice Tashi Rabstan was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court on 8 December 2022.

List of former chief justices

Notable people

* Hakim Imtiyaz Hussain (born 1949), former Jammu and Kashmir High Court judge

Jammu and Kashmir State Judicial Academy

In 2001, the High Court established its regular Judicial Academy via order No. 342, dated 26 July. Since then, Jammu and Kashmir State Judicial Academy functions regularly and holds training programmes. Jammu and Kashmir State Judicial Academy has its own infrastructure in Jammu (in the premises of the High Court) and in Srinagar (Mominabad). The administrative machinery of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh moves to Srinagar, its summer capital, in April and Jammu, its winter capital, in November every year. In view of this tradition, Jammu and Kashmir State Judicial Academy also functions likewise from Jammu and Srinagar. It has infrastructures both in Jammu and Srinagar.

References

* {{Cite news, date=17 July 2021, title=New nomenclature for Jammu and Kashmir High Court, work=The Indian EXPRESS, url=https://indianexpress.com/article/india/new-nomenclature-for-jammu-and-kashmir-high-court-7408891/, access-date=17 July 2021, archive-date=17 July 2021, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210717045135/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/new-nomenclature-for-jammu-and-kashmir-high-court-7408891/, url-status=live

External links