J&K High Court renamed as ‘High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh’

The “long-winding and cumbersome” nomenclature ‘Common High Court of UT of Jammu and Kashmir and UT of Ladakh’ has been changed to ‘High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh’, according to an order notified on Friday, reported LiveLaw.com on Saturday.

President Ram Nath Kovind has signed the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2021, to effect the change.

Now, the Jammu & Kashmir High Court will be called as High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as per an official order passed by Department of Justice in the Law Ministry on Friday.

The order pointed out that the Act declared that the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir will be the “Common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh”.

“The present nomenclature is found to be rather long-winding and cumbersome. The said nomenclature may be substituted as High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh, which besides being convenient would also be in consonance with the name pattern followed in other common High Courts, namely, Punjab and Haryana High Court, which has jurisdiction over the states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh,” it said.

Views on the proposal were sought from the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh and the Chief Justice of the High Court.

“The Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir vide letter dated October 27, 2020, and the Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh vide letter dated October 20, 2020, have conveyed their agreement to the proposed change in the name of the High Court.