Wikipedia

High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh

(Redirected from High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh)

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh[2][3] is the common high court for union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. It was established as the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on 26 March 1928 by the Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir. The seat of the court shifts between the summer capital Srinagar and winter capital Jammu. The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 17, 13 of whom are permanent judges, and 4 are additional judges.[4][5] Arun Palli has been the Chief Justice of the court since 16 April 2025.[6]

High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh
Logo of High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
Established26 March 1928; 98 years ago (1928-03-26)[1]
JurisdictionJammu and Kashmir and Ladakh
LocationSrinagar Wing (Summer) and Jammu Wing (Winter)
Composition methodPresidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and governor of respective state
Authorised byConstitution of India
Appeals toSupreme Court of India
Judge term lengthMandatory retirement at the age of 62
Number of positions25 (19 Permanent Judges and 6 Additional Judges)
Websitejkhighcourt.nic.in
Chief Justice
CurrentlySanjeev Kumar (Acting CJ)
Since2 June 2026

History

edit

The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir was established by Order No. 1, issued by Maharaja Hari Singh on 26 March 1928. The Maharaja appointed Lala Kanwar Sain as the first chief justice, and Lala Bodh Raj Sawhney and Khan Sahib Aga Syed Hussain as puisne judges.[7] The High Court sat at both the winter capital of Jammu, 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[8] was the first Muslim judge of the High Court. He retired as Home and Judicial Minister of Jammu and Kashmir during the Maharaja's rule.[9]

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.[citation needed]

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 Ladakh—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.

Tashi Rabstan was appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court on 8 December 2022.[10]

Chief justice and judges

edit

Former chief justices

edit
List of former chief justices
# Chief Justice Term
1 Kanwar Sain 27 April 1928–16 February 1931
2 Birjor Dalal 16 February 1931–24 November 1936
3 Abdul Qayoom 24 November 1936–20 July 1940
4 Rachpal Singh 13 August 1940–6 March 1942
5 Ganga Nath 24 June 1942–23 October 1945
6 S.K. Ghose 29 March 1946–29 March 1948
7 Janki Nath Wazir 30 March 1948–2 December 1967
8 Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali 3 December 1967–1 April 1975
9 Raja Jaswant Singh 2 April 1975–23 January 1976
10 M.R.A. Ansari 23 January 1976–8 November 1977
11 Mian Jalal-ud-Din 15 February 1978–22 February 1980
12 Mufti Baha-ud-Din 7 March 1983–23 August 1983
13 Vazhakkulangarayil Khalid 24 August 1983–24 June 1984
14 Adarsh Sein Anand 11 May 1985–23 October 1989
15 S.S. Kang 24 October 1989–14 May 1993
16 S.C. Mathur 10 October 1993–17 March 1994
17 S. Sagir Ahmed 18 March 1994–22 September 1994
18 M. Ramakrishna 10 October 1994–15 June 1997
19 Bhawani Singh 16 June 1997–21 February 2000
20 B.P. Saraf 21 February 2000–22 August 2001
21 H.K. Sema 12 September 2001–8 April 2002
22 B.C. Patel 16 May 2002–4 March 2003
23 S.N. Jha 4 February 2004–11 October 2005
24 B.A. Khan 25 January 2007–31 March 2007
25 K.S. Radhakrishnan 7 January 2008–28 August 2008
26 Manmohan Sarin 4 September 2008–19 October 2008
27 Barin Ghosh 3 January 2009–13 April 2010
28 Dr. Aftab Hussain Saikia 13 April 2010–6 April 2011
29 F. M. Ibrahim Kalifulla 24 February 2011–2 April 2012
Acting Virender Singh 2 April 2012–7 June 2012
30 M. M. Kumar 8 June 2012 – 4 January 2015
31 N. Paul Vasanthakumar 2 February 2015 – 14 March 2017
Acting Ramalingam Sudhakar 15 March 2017 – 31 March 2017
32 Badar Durrez Ahmed 1 April 2017 – 15 March 2018
Acting Ramalingam Sudhakar 16 March 2018 – 11 May 2018
Acting Alok Aradhe 11 May 2018 – 11 August 2018
33 Gita Mittal 11 August 2018 – 8 December 2020
Acting Rajesh Bindal 9 December 2020 – 3 January 2021
34 Pankaj Mithal 4 January 2021 – 12 October 2022
35 Ali Mohammad Magrey 13 October 2022 – 7 December 2022
Acting Tashi Rabstan 8 December 2022 – 14 February 2023
36 N. Kotiswar Singh 15 February 2023 – 17 July 2024
Acting Tashi Rabstan 18 July 2024 – 26 September 2024
37 Tashi Rabstan 27 September 2024 – 9 April 2025
Acting Sanjeev Kumar 10 April 2025 – 15 April 2025
38 Arun Palli 16 April 2025 – 1 June 2026
Acting Sanjeev Kumar 2 June 2026 – Incumbent

Judges elevated as Chief Justices

edit

This sections contains list of only those judges elevated as chief justices whose parent high court is Jammu & Kashmir. This includes those judges who, at the time of appointment as chief justice, may not be serving in Jammu & Kashmir High Court but this list does not include judges who at the time of appointment as chief justice were serving in Jammu & Kashmir High Court but does not have Jammu & Kashmir as their Parent High Court.[11]

Name Image Appointed as CJ in HC of Date of appointment Date of retirement[a] Tenure Ref..
As Judge As Chief Justice As Chief Justice As Judge[b]
Janki Nath Wazir Jammu & Kashmir 1937 30 March 1948 2 December 1967 19 years, 248 days [12]
Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali Jammu & Kashmir 9 April 1958 3 December 1967 1 April 1975[‡] 7 years, 120 days 16 years, 358 days
Raja Jaswant Singh Jammu & Kashmir 3 December 1967 2 April 1975 22 January 1976[‡] 296 days 8 years, 51 days
Mian Jalal-ud-Din Jammu & Kashmir 10 July 1968 15 February 1978 22 February 1980 2 years, 8 days 11 years, 228 days [13]
Mufti Baha-ud-Din Jammu & Kashmir 27 August 1971 7 March 1983 23 August 1983[RES] 170 days 11 years, 362 days [14]
Adarsh Sein Anand Jammu & Kashmir, transferred to Madras 26 May 1975 11 May 1985 17 November 1991[‡] 6 years, 191 days 16 years, 176 days
Ram Prakash Sethi Karnataka 30 May 1986 29 June 1996 6 January 1999[‡] 2 years, 192 days 12 years, 222 days
Vinod Kumar Gupta Jharkhand, transferred to Himachal Pradesh then to Uttarakhand 7 November 1990 5 December 2000 9 September 2009 8 years, 279 days 18 years, 307 days [15]
Bashir Ahmed Khan Jammu & Kashmir 12 November 1990 25 January 2007 31 March 2007 66 days 16 years, 140 days [16]
Tirath Singh Thakur Punjab & Haryana 16 February 1994 11 August 2008 16 November 2009[‡] 1 year, 98 days 15 years, 274 days
Bilal Nazki Orissa 6 January 1995 14 November 2009 17 November 2009 4 days 14 years, 316 days [17]
Nisar Ahmad Kakru Andhra Pradesh 26 November 1997 19 February 2010 25 October 2011 1 year, 249 days 13 years, 334 days [18]
Permod Kohli Sikkim 7 January 2003 12 December 2011 28 February 2013 1 year, 79 days 10 years, 53 days [19]
Mansoor Ahmad Mir Himachal Pradesh 31 January 2005 18 June 2014 24 April 2017 2 years, 311 days 12 years, 84 days [20]
Mohammad Yaqoob Mir Meghalaya 23 November 2007 21 May 2018 27 May 2019 1 year, 7 days 11 years, 186 days [21]
Ali Mohammad Magrey Jammu & Kashmir 8 March 2013 12 October 2022 7 December 2022 57 days 9 years, 275 days
Dhiraj Singh Thakur Andhra Pradesh 28 July 2023 24 April 2026 2 years, 271 days 13 years, 48 days [22]
Tashi Rabstan Jammu & Kashmir 27 September 2024 9 April 2025 195 days 12 years, 33 days

Judges appointed as Acting Chief Justice

edit
Name Appointed as ACJ in HC of Date of appointment as Judge Period as Acting Chief Justice Date of retirement[a] Tenure as ACJ Tenure as Judge Remarks Ref..
Mian Jalal-ud-Din Jammu & Kashmir 10 July 1968 9 Nov 1977 – 14 Feb 1978 22 February 1980 98 days 11 years, 228 days Became permanent [23]
Mufti Baha-ud-Din Jammu & Kashmir 27 August 1971 23 Feb 1980 – 6 Mar 1983 23 August 1983[RES] 3 years, 12 days 11 years, 362 days [24]
A. S. Anand Jammu & Kashmir 26 May 1975 25 Jun 1984 – 10 May 1985 17 November 1991[‡] 320 days 16 years, 176 days Became permanent
S. M. Rizvi Jammu & Kashmir 30 May 1984 15 May 1993 – 9 Oct 1993 28 June 1995 148 days 11 years, 30 days -- [25]
23 Sep 1994 – 9 Oct 1994 17 days [26]
R. P. Sethi Punjab & Haryana 30 May 1986 27 Mar 1996 – 27 Jun 1996 6 January 1999[‡] 93 days 12 years, 222 days Elevated as CJ of Karnataka
V. K. Gupta Jharkhand 7 November 1990 15 Nov 2000 – 4 Dec 2000 9 September 2009 20 days 18 years, 307 days Became permanent
Bashir Ahmed Khan Delhi 12 November 1990 8 Aug 2005 – 11 Oct 2005 31 March 2007 65 days 16 years, 140 days Transferred to Jammu & Kashmir [27]
Jammu & Kashmir 12 Oct 2005 – 24 Jan 2007 1 year, 105 days Became permanent [28]
T. S. Thakur Delhi 16 February 1994 9 Apr 2008 – 10 May 2008 16 November 2009[‡] 1 year, 98 days 15 years, 274 days -- [29]
Bilal Nazki Andhra Pradesh 6 January 1995 4 Apr 2005 – 26 Nov 2005 17 November 2009 237 days 14 years, 316 days -- [30]
12 Nov 2007 – 6 Jan 2008 56 days Transferred to Bombay
Rattan Chand Gandhi Rajasthan 1 Feb 2009 – 5 Mar 2009 21 January 2010 33 days 15 years, 16 days -- [31]
11 May 2009 – 9 Aug 2009 91 days
N. A. Kakru Jammu & Kashmir 26 November 1997 1 Apr 2007 – 5 Jun 2007 25 October 2011 66 days 13 years, 334 days [32]
12 Nov 2007 – 6 Jan 2008 56 days
20 Oct 2008 – 2 Jan 2009 75 days
M. A. Mir Himachal Pradesh 31 January 2005 27 Nov 2013 – 17 Jun 2014 24 April 2017 2 years, 311 days 12 years, 84 days Became permanent
M. Y. Mir Jammu & Kashmir 23 November 2007 5 Jan 2015 – 2 Feb 2015 27 May 2019 29 days 11 years, 186 days --
Tashi Rabstan Jammu & Kashmir 8 March 2013 8 Dec 2022 – 14 Feb 2023 9 April 2025 69 days 12 years, 33 days
18 Jul 2024 – 26 Sep 2024 71 days Became permanent
Sanjeev Kumar Jammu & Kashmir 6 June 2017 10 Apr 2025 – 15 Apr 2025 Incumbent 6 days 9 years, 31 days --
2 Jun 2026 – Incumbent 35 days
  1. 1 2 this includes date of resignation, death and elevation to supreme court
  2. ↑ also includes tenure as Chief Justice

Judges elevated to Supreme Court

edit

This section includes the list of only those judges whose parent high court was Jammu & Kashmir. This includes those judges who, at the time of elevation to Supreme Court of India, may not be serving in Jammu & Kashmir High Court but this list does not include judges who at the time of elevation were serving in Jammu & Kashmir High Court but does not have Jammu & Kashmir as their Parent High Court.

# Name of the Judge Image Date of Appointment Date of Retirement Tenure Immediately preceding office
In Parent High Court In Supreme Court In High Court(s) In Supreme Court Total tenure[a]
1 Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali 9 April 1958 2 April 1975 20 August 1985[†] 16 years, 358 days 10 years, 141 days 27 years, 134 days 8th CJ of Jammu & Kashmir HC
2 Raja Jaswant Singh 3 December 1967 23 January 1976 24 January 1979 8 years, 51 days 3 years, 2 days 11 years, 53 days 9th CJ of Jammu & Kashmir HC
3 Adarsh Sein Anand 26 May 1975 18 November 1991 31 October 2001 16 years, 176 days 9 years, 348 days 26 years, 159 days 24th CJ of Madras HC
4 Ram Prakash Sethi 30 May 1986 8 January 1999 6 July 2002 12 years, 222 days 3 years, 180 days 16 years, 38 days 18th CJ of Karnataka HC
5 Tirath Singh Thakur 16 February 1994 17 November 2009 3 January 2017 15 years, 274 days 7 years, 47 days 22 years, 323 days 28th CJ of Punjab & Haryana HC
  1. ↑ Includes both tenure as High Court Judge as well as Supreme Court Judge

Notable people

edit

Jammu and Kashmir State Judicial Academy

edit

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.[33] 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.[34][35]

References

edit
  1. ↑ "History". www.Jkhighcourt.nic.in. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  2. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 October 2021. Retrieved 10 September 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ↑ "New nomenclature for Jammu and Kashmir High Court". The Hindu. 17 July 2021. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021 – via www.thehindu.com.
  4. ↑ "Law Department J&K". jklaw.nic.in. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  5. ↑ "History". jkhighcourt.nic.in. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2017.
  6. ↑ "Justice Arun Palli takes oath as Chief Justice of High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh". Hindustan Times. 17 April 2025. Retrieved 14 May 2026.
  7. ↑ "History". Jkhighcourt.nic.in. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  8. ↑ "Kandahar's Qizilbash". Kashmir Life. 30 November 2017. Archived from the original on 6 March 2021. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  9. ↑ Altaf, Sana (1 December 2011). "Changing times." Newsinsight.net. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  10. ↑ "Justice Tashi Rabstan appointed acting Chief Justice of J-K High Court". The Hindu. PTI. 7 December 2022. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court". jkhighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Jankinath Wazir". The Nehru Archive. 15 February 1953. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  13. ↑ Court, India Supreme (1979). Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as on ... Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, Department of Justice, Government of India.
  14. ↑ Court, India Supreme (1979). Judges of the Supreme Court and the High Courts as on ... Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, Department of Justice, Government of India.
  15. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr. Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta | High Court of Uttarakhand | India". Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  16. ↑ "JUSTICE B. A. KHAN | Welcome To Delhi High Court". delhihighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  17. ↑ "Former Chief Justice | Orissa High Court, Cuttack". www.orissahighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  18. ↑ "Profile : N. A. Kakru".
  19. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr. Justice Permod Kohli | High Court of Sikkim". hcs.gov.in. Archived from the original on 10 March 2026. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  20. ↑ Bhandari, Rahul (18 June 2014). "Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir new Chief Justice of HP High Court". The News Himachal. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir | High Court of Meghalaya". meghalayahighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  22. ↑ "Hon'ble Sri Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur | Ananthapuramu District Court | India". anantapur.dcourts.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 March 2025. Retrieved 28 June 2026.
  23. ↑ "Jia Lal Abrol v. Sarla Devi ., Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Judgment, Law, casemine.com". www.casemine.com. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  24. ↑ Irfan, Shams (7 July 2014). "HC holds full court reference to condole Baha-Ud-Din's demise". Kashmir Life. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  25. ↑ "Union Of India v. J & K Cigarettes Ltd., Jammu and Kashmir High Court, Judgment, Law, casemine.com". www.casemine.com. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  26. ↑ "Fayaz Ahmed Malik VS State Of J. &K. - Supreme Today AI". supremetoday.ai. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  27. ↑ "Justice B A Khan is acting CJ". The Times of India. 7 August 2005. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 15 January 2026.
  28. ↑ "Justice Khan made head of accountability panel". The Tribune. Retrieved 15 May 2026.
  29. ↑ "Judgement mentioning G. B. Pattnaik as Acting CJ".
  30. ↑ "High Court for the State of Telangana". tshc.gov.in. Archived from the original on 21 May 2025. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  31. ↑ "Former Patron-in-Chief | Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RSLSA) | India". Retrieved 26 December 2025.
  32. ↑ "High Court of Andhra Pradesh". aphc.gov.in. Archived from the original on 22 August 2025. Retrieved 2 October 2025.
  33. ↑ "Welcome to Jammu & Kashmir State Judicial Academy". jkja.nic.in. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  34. ↑ "Welcome to Jammu & Kashmir State Judicial Academy". www.jkja.nic.in. Archived from the original on 8 August 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2021.
  35. ↑ "Welcome to Jammu & Kashmir State Judicial Academy". www.jkja.nic.in. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 2 March 2021.

Further reading

edit
edit
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=High_Court_of_Jammu_%26_Kashmir_and_Ladakh&oldid=1361703582"