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Highlighting a historic step in the judicial infrastructure of Ladakh, Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra on Saturday announced that a sitting bench of the High Court is being established in Leh, significantly reducing the travel and legal burden for local citizens seeking justice.
Speaking ahead of a high-profile judicial delegation visit to the Union Territory, Kundra revealed that top legal luminaries, including the Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court Justices, and the Attorney General of India, will be attending the landmark occasion. Tomorrows inauguration will witness the presence of the Chief Justice of India, Supreme Court Justice Surya Kant, four other Supreme Court judges, the Chief Justice and judges of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, as well as Attorney General of India R Venkataramani. "Tomorrow, the Honorable Chief Justice of India is visiting. The Honorable Justice Surya Kant, four Supreme Court judges, the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, and judges of the High Court will be present. The Attorney General of India will also be attending. It is a big thing," he said. Previously, residents of Ladakh seeking to file writ petitions or access High Court proceedings had to undertake long journeys to Jammu or Srinagar. The sitting bench in Leh will provide legal redress right at their doorstep. Chief Secretary Kundra noted that setting up a permanent/sitting bench in this manner is a rarity in modern Indian judicial history, drawing a parallel only to the expansion of Guwahati High Court benches in the northeastern states like Arunachal Pradesh. The administrative and judicial setup for the bench was accomplished in a remarkably short turnaround time of just two months. "If you look at the history of High Courts in India over the past 40 years, I do not think a sitting bench has been established in this manner for any other High Court. The only example that comes to mind is that of the northeastern states, where the Guwahati High Court had benches in Arunachal Pradesh, where I have worked. Bringing justice closer to the people is a very significant step. If someone is aggrieved and wants to file a writ petition, they would otherwise have to travel to Srinagar or Jammu. The fact that this is now possible in Leh is an extremely positive development. This has happened within a span of two months," added Kundra. Since Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019, the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has exercised jurisdiction over the region. While circuit benches periodically visited the area, establishing a dedicated sitting bench in Leh marks a monumental shift toward permanent, accessible judicial infrastructure in the high-altitude region. (ANI)
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