Consequent upon elevation of Justice Arun Palli to Supreme Court, Justice Sanjeev Kumar has been appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
A notification to this effect was issued by the Department of Justice, Ministry of Law and Justice on June 1, 2026. The development comes after incumbent Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice Arun Palli was elevated as a Supreme Court judge.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar was born on April 8, 1966, and obtained his law degree from the University of Jammu in 1989.He enrolled as an advocate in the same year and practised primarily before the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir, handling civil, constitutional, service, and taxation matters.
He also served as Senior Additional Advocate General for the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir.He was appointed as a permanent Judge of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir on June 6, 2017. During his tenure on the Bench, Justice Sanjeev Kumar has delivered several significant judgments dealing with constitutional rights, service law, preventive detention, land laws, and public administration.With the latest appointment, Justice Sanjeev Kumar will head the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh as its Acting Chief Justice until a new regular Chief Justice is appointed.
Pertinently, the sanctioned strength of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh is 25 judges (19 permanent judges and 6 additional judges).However, against this sanctioned capacity, the court is currently functioning with significantly fewer judges, resulting in multiple vacancies.
As against these Courts, there are 59 District Judges, 60 Sub-Judges and 56 Munsiffs. The Government in 2008 created 12 more Courts of District and Sessions Judges along with supporting staff and two Courts of Chief Judicial Magistrates/ Sub-Judges for the Districts of Bandipora and Ganderbal. Out of these 12 Courts, two Courts were designated as additional courts of Anti-corruption at Jammu and Srinagar.
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