Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday inaugurated the Ladakh Bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in Leh, announcing plans to make it easier for lawyers from the region to present cases before the Supreme Court without travelling to Delhi.
The CJI said the Supreme Court would set aside a dedicated day to list matters originating from Ladakh once adequate video-conferencing facilities were available to lawyers practising before the new Bench. The apex court would also hear these cases through video conferencing on a day-to-day basis, allowing advocates from Leh and Kargil to appear remotely.
The arrangement is intended to reduce the travel time and expenses incurred by litigants and lawyers seeking access to the country’s highest court.
“Once video-conferencing facilities are adequately available to the lawyers of the Ladakh Bench, the Supreme Court shall list all matters coming from Ladakh on a single day, and hear them on day to day basis also through video-conferencing,” Surya Kant said in his presidential address at the inauguration ceremony at the High Court Complex in Melangthong, Leh.
“I want that Members of Leh and Kargil Bars are able to argue such cases before the Supreme Court without having to leave Ladakh, sparing litigants the time and cost of a journey to Delhi,” he added.
The ceremony was attended by Supreme Court Justices MM Sundresh and PS Narasimha, Justice Arun Palli, Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh Pushpendra Singh Bhati, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani and Ladakh Lieutenant Governor Vinay Kumar Saxena.
The inauguration follows a regulation promulgated by the President on August 28, permitting the establishment of a circuit bench in Ladakh.
Addressing the longstanding difficulties faced by residents seeking legal remedies, Surya Kant said the High Court serving Ladakh had remained beyond the Great Himalaya for nearly a century. During winter, air travel was the only means of reaching it, making access to justice particularly difficult for people living in the remote region.
He cited the challenges faced by widows seeking pension benefits, mothers trying to reunite with their children and senior citizens pursuing insurance claims. For many litigants, he said, the cost of travelling to court could exceed the fees paid to their lawyers. Some were unable to approach the High Court at all.
Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019, after which the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir was renamed the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. However, the CJI said that including Ladakh in the court’s name had not, by itself, made the institution accessible to people living in the region.
“The High Court has today crossed the passes to reach Ladakh, instead of asking the people of Ladakh to cross the passes to reach it,” he said.
Surya Kant stressed that the new Bench must serve residents across Ladakh, including those in Kargil, and not just those living in Leh. He said the initiative would achieve its purpose only when people throughout the region considered the Bench their own.
He also highlighted the importance of technology in overcoming the geographical barriers that prevent residents of remote villages from accessing legal services. Electronic filing, video-conferencing facilities and text-message notifications could help litigants follow court proceedings and communicate with judicial institutions without undertaking long journeys.
However, he cautioned against allowing technology to create fresh difficulties for people unfamiliar with computers or online procedures. Facilitation centres, including e-Sewa Kendras, should help such litigants use digital services, he said.
The CJI also called for stronger legal aid services, including awareness camps in villages, the deployment of para-legal volunteers, free legal representation, Lok Adalats and timely compensation for survivors of crime.
“The High Court’s Legal Services Committee must work in tandem with the Ladakh Legal Services Authority to reach those who are still waiting for justice,” he said.
“Access to justice, after all, begins not in the Court’s compound, but at the litigant’s door,” he added.
The CJI described the inauguration as another step towards bringing judicial institutions closer to Ladakh’s residents. He recalled his visit to the region in March, when he inaugurated new District Court complexes in Leh and Kargil.
Noting that the new Bench stood at an altitude of approximately 3,500 metres above sea level, Surya Kant said its significance lay not in its elevation but in how close it brought the justice system to the people.
He expressed hope that the Bench would also encourage more young people from Ladakh to enter the legal profession, including those who might go on to become judges.
