Union Cabinet approved the establishment of a permanent bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in the Union Territory of Ladakh

Union Cabinet approved the establishment of a permanent bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in the Union Territory of Ladakh

¨     Union Cabinet approved the establishment of a permanent bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in the Union Territory of Ladakh on 20 August 2026.

¨     The High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is the common High Court for the two Union Territories.

¨     The High Court currently has two seats located in Srinagar and Jammu.

¨     The new Ladakh bench will become the third judicial location of the High Court.

¨     Ladakh is a high-altitude Union Territory with scattered settlements across districts such as Leh and Kargil.

¨     The establishment of a High Court bench in Ladakh will reduce the need for local litigants to travel to Jammu or Srinagar for hearings.

¨     The new bench will improve access to justice for people living in remote and difficult-to-reach areas of Ladakh.

¨     Parliament data as of 30 July 2026 recorded 44,557 pending cases before the High Court.

¨     More than 6,100 cases had been pending for over 10 years.

¨     A Law Ministry reply in the Lok Sabha in late 2025 stated that only five of Ladakh’s ten subdivisions had court infrastructure.

¨     These five subdivisions were Zanskar, Sankoo, Khaltsi, Nubra and Drass.

¨     The establishment of the permanent bench is expected to strengthen judicial infrastructure, improve access to justice, and facilitate the disposal of cases in Ladakh.