All Seven Benches At Karnataka High Court's Dharwad Bench To Be Presided Over By Women Judges On August 1

In a historic development, all Benches of the Karnataka High Court at Dharwad–both Division and Single benches, will be presided over exclusively by women judges on August 1 marking a significant milestone for gender representation in the higher judiciary.

The Karnataka High Court Dharwad Bench has issued its roster notification for the special sitting on August 1, 2026, with all seven Benches, being assigned exclusively to women judges.

The roster provides for three Division Benches, each comprising two women judges, handling a comprehensive range of appellate and original jurisdiction matters. Four women judges will also sit as single benches, handling specialized categories of cases.

The All-Women Bench Composition for August 1, 2026 is as follows:

-Division Benches

Division Bench No. 1 (Court Hall No. 2)

Presiding Judges:

• Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Anu Sivaraman
• Hon'ble Mrs. Justice K.G. Shanthi

Jurisdiction:

• All Division Bench Writ/Civil matters (except those assigned to other Benches)
• Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing

Division Bench No. 2 (Court Hall No. 3)

Presiding Judges:

• Hon'ble Ms. Justice Jyoti M.
• Hon'ble Mrs. Justice P. Sree Sudha

Jurisdiction:

1. Miscellaneous First Appeals (MV, WC/ECA and ESI) – Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing
2. Writ Appeals (Labour, Service and KVOA) – Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing
3. All Division Bench Tax matters – Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing

Division Bench No. 3 (Court Hall No. 4)

Presiding Judges:

• Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Lalitha Kanneganti
• Hon'ble Mrs. Justice K.S. Hemalekha

Jurisdiction:

1. Miscellaneous First Appeals [Family Court (FC) Matters] – Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing
2. Writ Appeals (MV, KEB and Excise) – Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing
3. Writ Petitions (S-KSAT) – Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing

Single Benches

Hon'ble Dr. Justice Chillakur Sumalatha 

• Jurisdiction:
  • Writ Petitions [All GM (except CPC), Service and Labour] – Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing
  • Revision Petition Family Court (RPFC) – Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing

Hon'ble Ms. Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju 

• Jurisdiction:
  • Writ Petitions (GM-CPC and Education) – Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing

Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Geetha K.B. 

• Jurisdiction:
  • Miscellaneous First Appeals – Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing
  • Arbitration Petition – Interim Measure, Arbitration Petition (Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Award) and Commercial Suit – Preliminary Hearing/Admission, Orders and Final Hearing

Hon'ble Mrs. Justice Rajeshwari N. Hegde 

• Jurisdiction:
  • All Category of Criminal matters – Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing
  • All Civil matters (except those assigned to other Benches) – Preliminary Hearing / Admissions, Orders and Final Hearing

The roster has been issued by the order of Chief Justice Vibhu Bakhru and is signed by Registrar (Judicial) Ron Vasudev. 

Click Here To Read/Download Roster