Gita Mittal Is First Woman Chief Justice of J&K High Court

Justice Gita Mittal has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court. She is the first woman to take over the position in the state. Former Chief Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed left office in March this year, following which the post was vacant.

Justice Mittal is the senior-most judge of Delhi High Court and has been functioning as the acting Chief Justice there since April 2017.

The Jammu & Kashmir High Court, established in 1928, has not had a single woman judge in its 90 years of existence. Thus, Justice Gita Mittal's appointment is pathbreaking.

While recommending her name for the position, a resolution of the Supreme Court Collegium said, "Having regard to all relevant factors, the Collegium finds Ms. Justice Gita Mittal suitable in all respects for appointment as Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir High Court, and resolves to recommend that she be appointed as Chief Justice of that High Court."

About her

• Born on December 9, 1958, Justice Mittal studied Economics Honours at Lady Shri Ram College For Women before doing her LLB from the Campus Law Centre, Delhi University in 1981.
• In 2004, she was appointed as an Additional Judge of Delhi High Court and was confirmed as a permanent judge in 2006.
• Since August, 2008, she has been a member of the Governing Council of the National Law University, Delhi. She is also a member of the Governing Council of the Indian Law Institute, New Delhi since 2013 and has been nominated to its Administrative Committee.
• Justice Mittal has written extensively on ‘Access to Justice’; protection of human rights; impact of incarceration on women; corporate social responsibility; procedure and intellectual property litigation and environmental laws and issues.
• She has also been engaged in conducting programmes on several topics of social relevance, including gender and disability sensitisation; environment; disaster management and constitutional rights of the marginalised.

Picture Credit: sarkarimirror.com

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