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Regular high court hearings bring justice closer in Ladakh

India

People in Ladakh now have a high court venue closer to home after the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh began regular hearings in Leh on October 21. Previously, litigants and lawyers from the region had to travel to Srinagar or Jammu for high court proceedings.

The opening day covered 65 cases at roughly 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) above sea level. Five were heard by a two-judge panel, with one judge joining online and the other sitting in Leh. A single judge then heard the remaining 60.

The new court complex, inaugurated on October 18, has facilities for electronic filing, digital records and video hearings. Fresh petitions can also be filed in Leh, according to local advocate Tashi Gyalson, so the venue is not limited to cases transferred from elsewhere.

Distance remains a challenge within Ladakh: Kargil is around 220 kilometres from Leh by road. Gyalson said virtual hearings announced for remote areas such as Zanskar and Nubra could also be extended to Kargil. Even with those challenges, regular hearings in Leh give residents and local lawyers a way to pursue high court cases without travelling outside the region.

Sources

  1. Hindustan TimesLandmark at 11,500 ft, regular high court hearings begin in Leh
  2. India TodayLadakh High Court Bench begins regular hearings in Leh at 11,500 feet
  3. Deccan ChronicleLadakh High Court Bench Begins Regular Hearings

Reporting notes

Where this came from

Hindustan Times

Hindustan Times adds identifiable local journalism through questions put to Tashi Gyalson, including confirmation that fresh petitions are accepted. No upstream publisher is identified for its opening-day account.

Unknown → Press Trust of India

India Today states that Press Trust of India reported the proceedings and that an unidentified official told PTI how the judges participated. It also relays Justice Parihar's remarks about judicial access.

Unknown

Deccan Chronicle attributes the travel-access rationale to officials and describes the court's e-filing, digital records, video-conferencing and initial sittings. The origin of these additional details is undisclosed, so their independence from the other coverage cannot be established.