Jammu and Kashmir High Court


The Jammu and Kashmir High Court is the high court for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. It was established in 26 March 1928 by letters patent issued by the Maharaja of Jammu Kashmir. The seat of the court shifts between its summer capital Srinagar and winter capital Jammu of Jammu and Kashmir. The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 17 in which 13 are permanent judges and 4 are additional judges.

History

The High Court of the Jammu Kashmir was established on the basis of the Order No. 1 issued by the Maharaja 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. The seats of the High Court were at Jammu and Srinagar. On 10 September 1943, letters patent were conferred on the High Court by the Maharaja. Khan Sahib Aga Syed Hussain was the first Muslim Judge of the High Court. He retired as Home and Judicial Minister of Jammu & Kashmir during the Maharaja Rule. In August 2018, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court got its first and second woman judges. Sindhu Sharma who was appointed as a Judge and Justice Gita Mittal who was appointed as the Chief Justice of the J&K High Court.
In August 2019, a Reorganisation Bill was passed by both houses of the Indian Parliament. The provisions contained in the bill reorganised the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories; Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh with effect from 31 October 2019. The existing Jammu and Kashmir High Court is to continue as the high court for both union territories.

The present Chief Justice

Justice Gita Mittal was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on 11 August 2018.

List of former chief justices