Srinagar, Aug 28: The President has promulgated a regulation paving the way for the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to hold sittings in Ladakh, giving residents of the Union Territory access to High Court proceedings closer to home.
The Union Territory of Ladakh (Sitting of Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh in Ladakh) Regulation, 2026, notified by the Ministry of Law and Justice on August 27, follows the Union Cabinet’s recent approval for establishing a High Court bench in Ladakh.
The regulation does not create a separate High Court for Ladakh. Instead, it enables judges and Division Courts of the existing common High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh to sit at places within Ladakh.
According to the regulation, the Chief Justice may designate a place or places in Ladakh where judges and Division Courts can hold sittings, subject to the approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
The Chief Justice will also have the discretion to direct that any case or category of cases arising in Ladakh be heard in Jammu or Srinagar, depending on the circumstances.
This means that while High Court proceedings can now be conducted in Ladakh, cases originating there can still be heard at either of the existing principal seats when the Chief Justice considers it appropriate.
The regulation further states that the principal seat of the common High Court will continue to remain at the location where it was situated before the regulation came into force.
The regulation extends to the entire Union Territory of Ladakh and will come into force on a date to be notified by the Administrator of Ladakh in the Official Gazette.
The move follows the 2019 reorganisation of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, under which Ladakh became a separate Union Territory while continuing to share the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
