Justice Arun Palli was sworn in on Wednesday as the new Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court.

The oath-taking ceremony took place at the Convention Centre in Jammu, where Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha administered the oath in the presence of several dignitaries, including former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, sitting judges, senior officials, and other attendees.

Justice Palli succeeds Chief Justice Tashi Rabstan, who retired on April 10. In the interim, Justice Sanjeev Kumar had served as Acting Chief Justice.

An official statement read: “At a ceremony held today in the Convention Centre, Shri Justice Arun Palli was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. He made and subscribed to the oath of office before the Lieutenant Governor, UT of J&K, Shri Manoj Sinha.”

Born on September 18, 1964, Justice Palli holds a commerce degree and a law degree from Panjab University (1988). His father, Prem Kishan Palli, was a senior advocate and later served as a judge in the Himachal Pradesh High Court until his retirement in 1998.

Justice Palli began practicing law at the Punjab and Haryana High Court and was appointed Additional Advocate General for Punjab in 2004. He was designated a senior advocate in 2007.

He was elevated as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on December 28, 2013. More recently, he served as the Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority from May 31, 2023, and was nominated as a Member of the Governing Body of NALSA (National Legal Services Authority) in October 2023.

The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has a sanctioned strength of 17 judges, including 13 permanent and 4 additional judges.