SRINAGAR: Chief Justice of India Surya Kant will visit Ladakh on Sunday to inaugurate the newly constituted Ladakh bench of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, Chief Secretary Ashish Kundra said on Saturday.
Kundra said the Chief Justice would be accompanied by four Supreme Court judges, the Chief Justice of the Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, other High Court judges and the Attorney General of India.
Describing the establishment of the bench as a significant development, the Chief Secretary said it would bring the judicial system closer to people in Ladakh, who otherwise had to travel to Srinagar or Jammu to file writ petitions.
“Justice coming closer to the people is a very big thing,” Kundra said, adding that the arrangement would improve access to justice in the strategically located region, where difficult terrain and living conditions can make travel challenging.
He said the bench had been established within two months and was not part of the demands raised during negotiations between Ladakhi political representatives and the Union Government. Kundra described it as a unilateral initiative of the Centre.
Drawing a comparison with the arrangements in the north-eastern states, where the Gauhati High Court has had benches in other states, including Arunachal Pradesh, Kundra said he could not recall a similar arrangement being created for another High Court in India in the past four decades.
The inauguration comes amid ongoing negotiations between Ladakhi political leaders and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The leaders are seeking a Union Territory with a legislature and constitutional safeguards under Article 371.
