Justice Arun Palli takes oath as 38th Chief Justice of J-K and Ladakh High Court

Jammu: Justice Arun Palli was on Wednesday sworn in as the 38th Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh at a ceremony held here, an official said.

Justice Palli made and subscribed to the oath of office before the Lt Governor Manoj Sinha at a function attended by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Speaker of Legislative Assembly Abdul Rahim Rather and judges of high court, subordinate judiciary and other dignitaries, the official said.

Chief justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh Justice G S Sandhawalia, sitting and retired judges from Justice Palli’s parent high court of Punjab and Haryana, along with advocates, family and friends also attended the event held at the Convention Centre.

On April 12, Union Ministry of Law and Justice issued notification regarding appointment of Justice Palli as Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh days following retirement of Chief Justice Tashi Rabistan. Justice Rabistan retired from service on April 9 and accordingly Justice Sanjeev Kumar has been serving as the acting chief justice since then.

On April 4, the Supreme Court Collegium led by Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna had recommended Justice Palli of the Punjab and Haryana High Court for the position of Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

Born on September 18, 1964, Justice Palli graduated in Commerce and completed his Bachelor of Law from Chandigarh's Panjab University in 1988 and commenced his legal practice at the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.

He gained expertise across diverse areas of law including civil, criminal, constitutional, revenue, industrial and labour law. He was appointed Additional Advocate General for Punjab on September 1, 2004, a position he held until March 2007.

Palli was designated as a Senior Advocate on April 26, 2007. He served as Amicus Curiae in various contentious matters before the High Court.

He dealt with diverse subjects and matters having important legal propositions before Division and Full Benches. He also appeared before the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court and also argued several important matters in the High Court of Himachal Pradesh.

He was elevated to the Bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on December 28, 2013. He was serving as Executive Chairman of Haryana State Legal Service Authority from may 31, 2023 and was nominated as a Member of the Governing Body of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) on October 31, 2023, for two years.