Ladakh makes judicial history; Country’s highest-altitude High Court Bench begins regular hearings at Leh

Chief Justice Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati, Justice Sanjay Parihar preside over historic first regular division bench
LEH, OCTOBER 21: A historic chapter in the Indian judicial history unfolded on Wednesday when Chief Justice of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh, Dr Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Sanjay Parihar presided over the first regular division bench at Leh.
The newly established Ladakh Bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh located at a breath-taking height of over 11,500 feet above sea level, began regular hearing of the cases from today.
The day began with the hearing by the Division Bench in which the Chief Justice heard the matters through virtual mode while Justice Sanjay Parihar was present physically at the Ladakh Bench. After the conclusion of the hearing of five listed Division Bench matters, Justice Sanjay Parihar sat singly and dealt with as many as 60 matters listed before the single bench. Today’s proceedings made use of technology to facilitate a sort of hybrid hearing with the Chief Justice hearing through Virtual Mode and Justice Sanjay Parihar doing physical hearing.
Justice Parihar said that the identification of the 65 cases that were listed today reflects the initial effort to organise and facilitate the hearing of matters concerning litigants from Ladakh. He added that the successful commencement of regular judicial hearings today by the Chief Justice in such a high-altitude location is a landmark achievement in the country’s judicial infrastructure and commitment to ensuring that geographical barriers do not become obstacles to justice.
The establishment of the Ladakh Bench is a significant step in strengthening the reach of constitutional institutions to remote and geographically challenging regions of the country.
Earlier, litigants from Leh, Kargil and other far-flung areas of Ladakh would undertake lengthy journeys to Srinagar or Jammu for proceedings before the High Court. The commencement of hearings here is also encouraging for the legal fraternity of Ladakh including advocates.
It may be mentioned that Ladakh Bench of J& K High court was formally inaugurated by the Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kanton October 18, 2026, at Melongthang, Leh.