President Murmu Promulgates Ladakh High
Court Bench Regulation, 2026
¨
President Droupadi Murmu
promulgated the Union Territory of Ladakh (Sitting of Bench of the High Court
of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in Ladakh) Regulation, 2026.
¨
The regulation was issued
under Article 240 of the Constitution and Section 58(2) of the Jammu and
Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019.
¨
Its objective is to
create a legal framework for High Court sittings in Ladakh.
¨
Article 240 empowers the
President to make regulations for certain Union Territories, including Ladakh.
¨
Under the regulation,
Judges and Division Courts of the common High Court can sit in Ladakh.
¨
The venue for the High
Court sitting in Ladakh will be decided by the Chief Justice, subject to the
approval of the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh.
¨
The principal seat of the
High Court will remain unchanged.
¨
The Chief Justice may
direct that cases originating from Ladakh, or specific categories of cases, be
heard at Jammu or Srinagar.
¨
The Union Cabinet,
chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the proposal on 20 August
2026.
¨
The Ministry of Law and
Justice published the regulation in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
¨
Vinai Kumar Saxena,
Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, welcomed the promulgation and referred to the
regional demand for a High Court bench in Ladakh.
¨
The regulation will come
into force on a separately notified date by the Administrator of Ladakh through
the Official Gazette.
¨
The High Court of Jammu
and Kashmir and Ladakh is the common High Court for Jammu and Kashmir and
Ladakh.
¨
The Jammu and Kashmir
Reorganisation Act, 2019 reorganised the former State of Jammu and Kashmir into
two Union Territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
