CJI Surya Kant Opens New High Court Facility in Leh

The Chief Justice of India, Justice Surya Kant, opened the new judicial facility in Leh, according to LiveLaw. The new seat of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court is located at Melongthang. The ceremony was attended by several Supreme Court judges, the Attorney General, and the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh, Vinai Kumar Saxena. The new facility is intended to reduce the travel costs and time required for residents of the remote region to attend court proceedings.

LiveLaw reported that the Chief Justice of India launched four key initiatives during the opening. These included the Green Wall initiative, an e-Filing Portal, a Document Management System, and an Online Recruitment Portal. The e-Filing Portal allows advocates and litigants to submit cases electronically, while the Document Management System facilitates the digital handling of judicial records. The court complex is equipped to function as a fully IT-enabled, paperless court, featuring a digitisation centre and video conferencing rooms.

In a subsequent ceremonial sitting on October 18, 2026, the High Court held proceedings presided over by Chief Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati. According to LiveLaw, Bhati described the new bench as the realization of a long-standing aspiration for accessible justice. He noted that residents of Ladakh had previously faced difficult terrain and high travel costs to pursue cases in Srinagar or Jammu. The Chief Justice emphasized that the permanent bench would ensure that geographical isolation no longer resulted in judicial exclusion.

During the ceremonial sitting, the Full Court adopted a resolution focusing on access to education for girl students in Ladakh. The resolution called for safe and affordable residential facilities for students from remote areas. It requested the Regular Bench to take further action to coordinate efforts among educational institutions and legal services authorities. The proceedings were attended by numerous High Court judges, legal officers, and the Law Secretary of the Union Territory of Ladakh.