Jammu and Kashmir High Court
| Jammu and Kashmir High Court | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1928 [1] |
| Country |
 India |
| Location | Srinagar Wing (Summer) and Jammu Wing (Winter) |
| Composition method | Presidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of respective state. |
| Authorized by | Constitution of India |
| Decisions are appealed to | Supreme Court of India |
| Judge term length | Mandatory retirement at the age of 62 |
| Number of positions | 14 (9 Permanent Judges and 5 Additional Judges) |
| Website | www.jkhighcourt.nic.in |
| Chief Justice | |
| Currently | Justice N. Paul Vasanthakumar |
| Since | 2 February 2015 |
The Jammu and Kashmir High Court (Hindi: जम्मू और कश्मीर उच्च न्यायालय) is the High Court of the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. It was established in the year 1928 by letters patent issued by the Maharaja of Jammu Kashmir. The seat of the court shifts between its summer capital Srinagar and winter capital Jammu. The court has a sanctioned judge strength of 14 in which 9 are permanent judges and 5 are additional judges.Moreover chapter 7 of j&k constitution deals with high court.
History
The High Court of the Jammu and Kashmir state was established on the basis of the Order No. 1 issued by the Maharaja on 26 March 1928. The Maharaja appointed Lala Kanwar Sain as the first Chief Justice and Lala Bodh Raj Sawhney and Khan Sahib Aga Syed Hussain as Puisne Judges.[2] The seats of the High Court were at Jammu and Srinagar. On 10 September 1943, letters patent were conferred on the High Court by the Maharaja. Khan Sahib Aga Syed Hussain was the first Muslim Judge of the High Court. He retired as Home and Judicial Minister of Jammu & Kashmir during the Maharaja Rule.[3]
The Chief Justice
N. Paul Vasanthakumar was appointed as the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court on 2 February 2015.[4]
List of former Chief Justices
| # | Chief Justice | Term |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanwar Sain | 27 April 1928–16 February 1931 |
| 2 | Birjor Dalal | 16 February 1931–24 November 1936 |
| 3 | Abdul Qayoom | 24 November 1936–20 July 1940 |
| 4 | Rachpal Singh | 13 August 1940–6 March 1942 |
| 5 | Ganga Nath | 24 June 1942–23 October 1945 |
| 6 | S.K. Ghose | 29 March 1946–29 March 1948 |
| 7 | Janki Nath Wazir | 30 March 1948–2 December 1967 |
| 8 | Syed Murtaza Fazl Ali | 3 December 1967–1 April 1975 |
| 9 | Raja Jaswant Singh | 2 April 1975–23 January 1976 |
| 10 | M.R.A. Ansari | 23 January 1976–8 November 1977 |
| 11 | Mian Jalal-ud-Din | 15 February 1978–22 February 1980 |
| 12 | Mufti Baha-ud-Din | 7 March 1983–23 August 1983 |
| 13 | V.Angarial Khalid | 24 August 1983–24 June 1984 |
| 14 | Adarsh Sein Anand | 11 May 1985–23 October 1989 |
| 15 | S.S. Kang | 24 October 1989–14 May 1993 |
| 16 | S.C. Mathur | 10 October 1993–17 March 1994 |
| 17 | S. Sagir Ahmed | 18 March 1994–22 September 1994 |
| 18 | M. Ramakrishna | 10 October 1994–15 June 1997 |
| 19 | Bhawani Singh | 16 June 1997–21 February 2000 |
| 20 | B.P. Saraf | 21 February 2000–22 August 2001 |
| 21 | H.K. Sema | 12 September 2001–8 April 2002 |
| 22 | B.C. Patel | 16 May 2002–4 March 2003 |
| 23 | S.N. Jha | 4 February 2004–11 October 2005 |
| 24 | B.A. Khan | 25 January 2007–31 March 2007 |
| 25 | Aftab Alam | 7 June 2007–10 November 2007 |
| 26 | K.S. Radhakrishnan | 7 January 2008–28 August 2008 |
| 27 | Manmohan Sarin | 4 September 2008–19 October 2008 |
| 28 | Barin Ghosh | 3 January 2009–13 April 2010 |
| 29 | Dr. Justice Aftab Hussain Saikia | 13 April 2010–6 April 2011 |
| 30 | F. M. Ibrahim Kalifulla | 24 February 2011–2 April 2012 |
| 31 | M. M. Kumar | 8 June 2012 – 4 January 2015 |
| 32 | N. Paul Vasanthakumar | 2 February 2015–till date |