CJI Surya Kant inaugurates Ladakh Bench of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court at Leh, bringing courts closer to litigants

Key facts

• Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant inaugurated the Ladakh Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in Leh on October 18, 2026.
• The inauguration was attended by Supreme Court Justices MM Sundresh, PS Narasimha and Arun Palli, judges of the High Court, Attorney General for India R Venkatramani and Ladakh Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena.
• Hearing of cases at the Ladakh Bench will commence from Wednesday.
• The Centre approved the establishment of the Ladakh Bench for the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in August 2026, and the High Court selected Leh as the venue for its sittings in Ladakh on October 5.
• The High Court previously had two benches at Srinagar and Jammu, and the new bench aims to bring High Court services closer to litigants in Ladakh where geographical distances make access to courts difficult.
• Chief Justice Surya Kant announced that lawyers from Leh and Kargil will soon be able to virtually access the Supreme Court from the Ladakh Bench, with all matters originating from Ladakh listed on a single day and heard via video-conferencing so lawyers can argue cases without travelling to Delhi.
• The CJI stated that the newly inaugurated bench in Leh sits at about 3,500 metres above sea level, reportedly the highest location at which any high court in the country has ever sat.
• After Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019, its name was inserted into the high court, but the CJI described that earlier step as largely symbolic compared to the new physical bench.
• The bench belongs equally to Leh and Kargil districts, and the CJI identified technology and legal aid as two essential instruments for improving access to justice in the region.