Politics · India · 6 hrs ago
Ladakh gets a high court bench in Leh
Ladakh now has a bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in Leh, inaugurated on Sunday by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
The high court was established in 1928, and the court was renamed after Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019.
Difficult terrain and harsh winters have made reaching court hard for many people in the region.
The Leh bench is intended to bring hearings closer, but the chief justice said it will not by itself serve people in far-flung villages.
He urged wider use of technology and legal aid to reach people who still struggle to access justice.
The Supreme Court plans to hear Ladakh cases by video link on a single day once lawyers at the Leh bench have adequate video-conferencing facilities.
Ladakh received a bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, inaugurated in Leh by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.
The bench is intended to bring the court closer to people who faced difficult travel because of Ladakh’s terrain and harsh winters.
The Leh bench sits about 3,500 metres above sea level.
Kant said technology and legal aid would still be needed to reach people in far-flung villages.
He also said the Supreme Court would hear matters from Ladakh on a single day once video-conferencing facilities are adequately available to lawyers there.
- Who
- The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, with Chief Justice of India Surya Kant inaugurating its Ladakh bench.
- What
- A high court bench was inaugurated in Leh.
- When
- Sunday, October 18, 2026.
- Where
- Leh, in the Union Territory of Ladakh.
- Why
- To bring the court closer to people who face difficult travel because of the region’s terrain and harsh winters.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court came into existence with three judges, including Chief Justice Lala Kanwar Sein.
Ladakh became a Union Territory, and the court was rechristened the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
Chief Justice of India Surya Kant inaugurated the Ladakh bench in Leh.
- Bench location
- Leh
- Elevation
- About 3,500 metres above sea level
- Inaugurated by
- Chief Justice of India Surya Kant
- Court established
- March 26, 1928
- Ladakh became a Union Territory
- 2019
What people are saying
What is important is how close it now stands to the people it serves.
The high court has today crossed the passes to reach Ladakh, instead of asking the people of Ladakh to cross the passes to reach it
Access to justice, after all, begins not in the court’s compound, but at the litigant’s door.
Once video-conferencing facilities are adequately available to the lawyers of the Ladakh bench, Supreme Court shall list all matters coming from Ladakh on a single day, and hear them on a day-to-day basis, also through videoconferencing.