Srinagar: Justice Arun Palli was sworn in as the 38th Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Wednesday during a ceremonial function held at the Convention Centre in Jammu. The oath of office was administered by Jammu and Kashmir's Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha.
The ceremony witnessed the presence of the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, High Court judges, members of the lower judiciary, and many other high-profile personalities of the legal and political fraternity. Among the attendees was Justice GS Sandhawalia, Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, along with a number of judges, both sitting and retired, from Justice Palli’s parent High Court, the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Justice Palli was appointed to serve as Chief Justice after the Supreme Court Collegium's recommendation on April 4, 2025. The collegium, headed by Chief Justice Sanjeev Khanna, nominated Justice Palli for the high-profile position just a few days before the retirement of the previous Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court, Justice Tashi Rabistan. After Justice Rabistan retired on April 9, Justice Sanjeev Kumar was holding the charge of the Chief Justice. The Central government made the appointment of Justice Palli official on April 12, confirming him to the new position.
Born on September 18, 1964, in Patiala, Justice Palli has had a long and distinguished legal career spanning many decades. He graduated in Commerce from Panjab University in 1985 and then qualified in law in 1988. He started his legal practice in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana, specializing in civil, revenue, constitutional, and industrial law. His illustrious career as a lawyer comprises being an Additional Advocate General for Punjab between 2004 and 2007, wherein he dealt with several high-profile cases.
In 2007, Justice Palli was appointed as a Senior Advocate and assumed various key positions such as appearing as Amicus Curiae in many prestigious cases. He also argued before the Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, and the Himachal Pradesh High Court. In December 2013, Justice Palli was promoted to the Punjab and Haryana High Court bench and subsequently became a Permanent Judge in December 2014.
Apart from his judicial work, Justice Palli worked as the Executive Chairman of Haryana State Legal Services Authority since May 2023 and was appointed as a Member of Governing Body of National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) in October 2023.
Justice Palli is from a renowned family of lawyers, his great-grandfather Lachchman Dass Palli and grandfather Lajpat Rai Palli having been leading lawyers of the Patiala District Bar. His deceased father Prem Kishan Palli was himself a Senior Counsel who, subsequently, became a member of the bench as a judge of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh until his retirement in 1998.
Read more:
