J&K And Ladakh High Court Designates 25 Lawyers As Senior Advocates After Five-Year Gap

In a significant development, the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has designated 25 advocates as Senior Advocates, marking the first such exercise since December 3, 2020. The decision was taken unanimously in a Full Court meeting held on August 19, 2025.

The exercise was undertaken in terms of the High Court of J&K and Ladakh (Designation of Senior Advocates) Rules, 2025 with the stated objective of recognizing professional excellence at the Bar while ensuring merit, diversity, and representation of different sections of the legal fraternity.

According to an official statement, 45 applications were received pursuant to Notifications dated May 29, 2025, and July 2, 2025. The scrutiny and evaluation process considered factors such as seniority, quality of advocacy, integrity, reputation, and inclusiveness. Applicants represented both the High Court and District/Trial Court practice.

The following advocates have been designated as Senior Advocates, subject to the furnishing of an undertaking under Rule 5 of the 2025 Rules:

1. Surrinder Singh

2. Shabir Ahmad Naik

3. Tahir Majid Shamsi

4. Syed Manzoor Ahmad

5. Mushtaq Ahmad Chashoo

6. Aseem Kumar Sawhney

7. Deepika Mahajan

8. Ravinder Sharma

9. Rakesh Kumar Chargotra

10. Masooda Jan

11. Amit Gupta

12. Tasaduq Hussain Khawaja

13. Chander Sheikher Gupta

14. Vishal Sharma

15. Nirmal Kishore Kotwal

16. Rameshwar Prasad Sharma

17. Ajay Sharma

18. Shah Mohd.

19. Sakal Bhushan

20. Rajnish Raina

21. Shabeena Nazir

22. Rohit Kohli

23. Raman Sharma

24. Anupam Raina

25. Shivani Jalali Pandita

This move comes as part of the High Court's renewed focus on institutionalizing the designation process after a five-year interval, ensuring both recognition of legal merit and broad-based representation within the Bar.

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