Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Sunday inaugurated the Ladakh Bench of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in Leh and announced that the Supreme Court would list all matters originating from Ladakh on a single day, once adequate video-conferencing facilities are available to lawyers practising before the new Bench.

The CJI said the Supreme Court would also hear these matters on a day-to-day basis through video conferencing, enabling lawyers from Leh and Kargil to argue cases before the apex court without having to travel to Delhi.

The arrangement, he said, would spare litigants from Ladakh the time and expense involved in travelling to the national capital.

"Once video-conferencing facilities are adequately available to the lawyers of the Ladakh Bench, the Supreme Court shall list all matters coming from Ladakh on a single day, and hear them on day to day basis also through video-conferencing," the CJI said in his presidential address at the inauguration ceremony held at the High Court Complex in Melangthong, Leh.

"I want that Members of Leh and Kargil Bars are able to argue such cases before the Supreme Court without having to leave Ladakh, sparing litigants the time and cost of a journey to Delhi," he added.

The CJI said the initiative would ensure that geographical distance did not stand between the people of Ladakh and the country's highest court.

Justice MM Sundresh, Justice PS Narasimha and Justice Arun Palli of the Supreme Court, J&K&L HC Chief Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati, Attorney General for India R Venkataramani, Ladakh LG Vinay Kumar Saxena were present at the event.

It was on August 28 that the President promulgated a regulation allowing the establishment of Ladakh circuit bench.

The CJI noted that, for nearly a century, the High Court serving Ladakh had been located beyond the Great Himalaya, with air travel being the only means of reaching it during winter. For litigants, including widows seeking pension benefits, mothers seeking reunion with their children and senior citizens pursuing insurance claims, the journey could cost more than the lawyer's fee. Many were unable to approach the High Court at all, he said.

Ladakh became a Union Territory in 2019, following which the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir came to carry Ladakh's name as well. However, the CJI said, having the region's name on the Court's letterhead was not the same as having a court accessible to its people.

"The High Court has today crossed the passes to reach Ladakh, instead of asking the people of Ladakh to cross the passes to reach it," he said.

Emphasising that the new Bench must serve the entire region, the CJI said it belonged as much to Kargil as to Leh. Its purpose would be fulfilled only when people across Ladakh felt that the Circuit Bench was their own.

He also stressed the role of technology and legal aid in making justice accessible to residents of remote villages. Electronic filing, video-conferencing facilities and text-message notifications could help litigants navigate the judicial process despite the region's vast distances.

At the same time, he said, technology should not become another barrier for those unfamiliar with computers. Facilitation centres such as e-Sewa Kendras must assist such litigants.

The CJI also called for strengthening legal aid through awareness camps in villages, para-legal volunteers, access to lawyers without cost, Lok Adalats and prompt compensation for survivors of crime.

"Access to justice, after all, begins not in the Court's compound, but at the litigant's door," he said, adding that the High Court's Legal Services Committee must work with the Ladakh Legal Services Authority to reach people who were still awaiting justice.

The CJI described the inauguration as another step in bringing judicial institutions closer to the people of Ladakh, recalling that he had visited the region in March to inaugurate new District Court complexes in Leh and Kargil.

Noting that the new Bench was situated approximately 3,500 metres above sea level, he said the more important consideration was not its altitude but its proximity to the people it served.

He concluded by expressing hope that the Bench would encourage a new generation of legal professionals from Ladakh, including those who might eventually serve as judges.