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Uttarakhand High Court

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Uttarakhand High Court
The High court building
Map
Interactive map of Uttarakhand High Court
29°23′45″N 79°26′52″E / 29.3958°N 79.4477°E / 29.3958; 79.4477
Established9 November 2000; 25 years ago (2000-11-09)
JurisdictionUttarakhand
LocationNainital, Uttarakhand
Coordinates29°23′45″N 79°26′52″E / 29.3958°N 79.4477°E / 29.3958; 79.4477
Composition methodPresidential with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of Uttarakhand
Authorised byConstitution of India
Judge term lengthmandatory retirement by age of 62
Number of positions11
(9 Permanent Judges + 2 Additional Judges)
WebsiteUttarakhand High Court
Chief Justice
CurrentlyManoj Kumar Gupta
Since10 January 2026

The Uttarakhand High Court is the High Court of the state of Uttarakhand in India. The Uttarakhand High Court was established on 9 November 2000 after the separation of the state of Uttarakhand from Uttar Pradesh.[1]

The sanctioned judge strength at the time of creation in 2000 was 7; this was increased to 9 in 2003. Justice Ashok Desai was the inaugural holder of the office. Former Chief Justices of Uttarakhand Sarosh Homi Kapadia and Jagdish Singh Khehar later went on to become Chief Justice of India.

History

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The Uttarakhand High Court is a relatively new addition to India's judiciary system. The building of Uttarakhand High Court was constructed by Santoni MacDonald in 1900.

Uttarakhand was carved out from the state of Uttar Pradesh on 9 November 2000 under the Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000. The High Court of Uttarakhand was also established on the same day.

The Uttarakhand High Court is located in Nainital, a scenic hill station in the Kumaon region of the state.[1]

The High Court initially consisted of just five court rooms but later more court rooms were added. A huge[vague] Chief Justice Court Block and a Block of Lawyers’ chambers were built in 2007.[2]

Landmark judgements

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In March 2017, Uttarakhand High Court's single-judge bench presided by Justice Rajeev Sharma, mandated that the rivers Ganges and Yamuna as well as all water bodies are "living entities" i.e. "legal person", and appointed 3 persons as trustees to protect the rights of rivers against the pollution caused by the humans.[3]

Rohit Sagar v. State of Uttarakhand

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Rohit Sagar v. State of Uttarakhand (2021) is a case where Uttarakhand High Court's two-judges bench presided by Chief Justice Raghvendra Singh Chauhan and Justice Narayan Singh Dhanik, held that the legal adults have the fundamental right to choose their own partners, and directed the Uttarakhand Police to provide necessary protection for the individuals and their property.[4][5]

List of sitting judges of the Uttarakhand High Court

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There are currently eight sitting judges including the Chief Justice, with post of one permanent and two additional judge lying vacant.[6] Following is the list of the current serving judges of the Uttarakhand High Court, ordered by seniority.

No. Name Date of Appointment Date of Retirement Type of Vacancy Parent High Court
Permanent Judges
1 Manoj Kumar Gupta (Chief Justice)
10 January 2026		 8 October 2026 Bar Allahabad
2 Manoj Kumar Tiwari (Senior Judge) 19 May 2017 18 September 2027 Uttarakhand
3 Ravindra Maithani 3 December 2018 24 June 2027 Bench
4 Rakesh Thapliyal 28 April 2023 14 November 2031 Bar
5 Pankaj Purohit 27 July 2030
6 Alok Mahra 14 February 2025 31 January 2034
7 Subhash Upadhyay 30 May 2025 11 December 2034
8 Siddharth Sah 8 January 2026 3 September 2033
9 Vacant
Additional Judges
10 Vacant
11

Registrar General

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Yogesh Kumar Gupta is the current Registrar General of the Uttarakhand High Court. He assumed office on 6 June 2025.

Former Chief Justices

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The Uttarakhand High Court was established on 9 November 2000 under Uttar Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2000 and has had 14 Chief Justices excluding[7] Acting Chief Justices.

Permanent Chief Justices
# Name Portrait Date of Appointment Date of Retirement Tenure Parent High Court Date of initial Appointment
1 Ashok Desai 6 December 2000 31 March 2003[‡] 2 years, 116 days Bombay 21 November 1986
2 Sarosh Homi Kapadia S. H. Kapadia 5 August 2003 17 December 2003 135 days Bombay 8 October 1991
3 Vikas Sridhar Sirpurkar 25 July 2004 19 March 2005[a] 238 days Bombay 9 November 1992
4 Cyriac Joseph 20 March 2005 6 January 2006[b] 293 days Kerala 6 July 1994
5 Rajeev Gupta 14 January 2006[c] 1 February 2008[d] 2 years, 19 days Madhya Pradesh 27 September 1994
6 Vinod Kumar Gupta 2 February 2008[e] 9 September 2009 1 year, 220 days Jammu & Kashmir 7 November 1990
7 Jagdish Singh Khehar J. S. Khehar 29 November 2009 7 August 2010[b] 252 days Punjab & Haryana 8 February 1999
8 Barin Ghosh 12 August 2010[f] 4 June 2014 3 years, 297 days Calcutta 14 July 1995
9 Kuttiyil Mathew Joseph 31 July 2014 6 August 2018 4 years, 7 days Kerala 14 October 2004
10 Ramesh Ranganathan 2 November 2018 27 July 2020 1 year, 269 days Andhra Pradesh 26 May 2005
11 Raghvendra Singh Chauhan 7 January 2021[g] 23 December 2021 351 days Rajasthan 13 June 2005
12 Vipin Sanghi 28 June 2022 26 October 2023 1 year, 121 days Delhi 29 May 2006
13 Ritu Bahri 4 February 2024 10 October 2024 250 days Punjab & Haryana 16 August 2010
14 Guhanathan Narendar 26 December 2024 9 January 2026 1 year, 15 days Karnataka 2 January 2015
Acting Chief Justices
Name Image From
(Reason)		 To
(Reason)		 Tenure Parent High Court Date of initial Appointment
Ashok Desai 9 November 2000
(Creation of New HC)		 5 December 2000
(Became permanent)		 27 days Bombay 21 November 1986
Prakash Chandra Verma[8] 1 April 2003
(Resignation of CJ Ashok Desai)		 4 August 2003
(Appointment of S. H. Kapadia as new CJ)		 126 days Allahabad 5 February 1999
18 December 2003
(Elevation of CJ S. H. Kapadia to SCI)		 24 July 2004
(Appointment of V. S. Sirpurkar as new CJ)		 220 days
7 January 2006
(Transfer of CJ Cyriac Joseph to Karnataka)		 13 January 2006
(Appointment of Rajeev Gupta as new CJ)		 7 days
B. C. Kandapal[9] 10 September 2009
(Retirement of CJ V. K. Gupta)		 25 September 2009
(Transfer of Tarun Agarwala as ACJ)		 16 days Uttarakhand 29 June 2004
Tarun Agarwala 25 September 2009
(Transferred as ACJ)		 28 November 2009
(Appointment of J. S. Khehar as new CJ)		 65 days Allahabad 7 January 2004
V. K. Bist 5 June 2014
(Retirement of CJ Barin Ghosh)		 30 July 2014
(Appointment of K. M. Joseph as new CJ)		 56 days Uttarakhand 1 November 2008
Rajeev Sharma 7 August 2018
(Elevation of CJ K. M. Joseph to SCI)		 2 November 2018
(Appointment of R. Ranganathan as new CJ)		 87 days Himachal Pradesh 3 April 2007
Ravi Malimath 28 July 2020
(Retirement of CJ R. Ranganathan)		 6 January 2021[h]
(Appointment of R. S. Chauhan as new CJ)		 132 days Karnataka 18 February 2008
S. K. Mishra[10] 24 December 2021
(Retirement of CJ R. S. Chauhan)		 28 June 2022
(Appointment of Vipin Sanghi as new CJ)		 187 days Orissa 7 October 2009
M. K. Tiwari[11] 27 October 2023
(Retirement of CJ Vipin Sanghi)		 3 February 2024
(Appointment of Ritu Bahri as new CJ)		 100 days Uttarakhand 19 May 2017
11 October 2024
(Retirement of CJ Ritu Bahri)		 25 December 2024
(Appointment of G. Narendar as new CJ)		 76 days
  1. ↑ Transferred to Calcutta High Court
  2. 1 2 Transferred to Karnataka High Court
  3. ↑ CJ of Kerala High Court transferred as CJ of Uttarakhand
  4. ↑ Transferred to Chhattisgarh High Court
  5. ↑ CJ of Himachal Pradesh High Court transferred as CJ of Uttarakhand
  6. ↑ CJ of Sikkim High Court transferred as CJ of Uttarakhand
  7. ↑ CJ of Telangana High Court transferred as CJ of Uttarakhand
  8. ↑ Transferred as Judge to Himachal Pradesh High Court

Judges elevated as Chief Justices

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This sections contains list of only those judges elevated as chief justices whose parent high court is Uttarakhand. This includes those judges who, at the time of appointment as chief justice, may not be serving in Uttarakhand High Court but this list does not include judges who at the time of appointment as chief justice were serving in Uttarakhand High Court but does not have Uttarakhand as their Parent High Court.

Name Image Appointed as CJ in HC of Date of appointment Date of retirement[a] Tenure
As Judge As Chief Justice As Chief Justice As Judge[b]
Prafulla Chandra Pant Meghalaya 29 June 2004 20 September 2013 12 August 2014[‡] 327 days 10 years, 45 days
Vijay Kumar Bist Sikkim 1 November 2008 30 October 2018 16 September 2019 322 days 10 years, 320 days
Sudhanshu Dhulia Gauhati 10 January 2021 8 May 2022[‡] 1 year, 119 days 13 years, 189 days

Judges appointed as Acting Chief Justice

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Name Appointed as ACJ in HC of Date of appointment as Judge Period as Acting Chief Justice Date of retirement[a] Tenure as ACJ Tenure as Judge Ref..
B. C. Kandapal Uttarakhand 29 June 2004 10 Sep 2009 – 25 Sep 2009 16 August 2010 16 days 6 years, 49 days [12]
V. K. Bist Uttarakhand 1 November 2008 5 Jun 2014 – 30 Jul 2014 16 September 2019 56 days 10 years, 320 days [13]
M. K. Tiwari Uttarakhand 19 May 2017 27 Oct 2023 – 3 Feb 2024 Incumbent 100 days 9 years, 142 days [14]
11 Oct 2024 – 25 Dec 2024 76 days
  1. 1 2 this includes date of resignation, death and elevation to supreme court
  2. ↑ also includes tenure as Chief Justice

Judges elevated to Supreme Court

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This section includes the list of only those judges whose parent high court was Uttarakhand. This includes those judges who, at the time of elevation to Supreme Court of India, may not be serving in Uttarakhand High Court but this list does not include judges who at the time of elevation were serving in Uttarakhand High Court but does not have Uttarakhand as their Parent High Court.

# Name of the Judge Image Date of Appointment Date of Retirement Tenure Immediately preceding office
In Parent High Court In Supreme Court In High Court(s) In Supreme Court Total tenure[a]
1 Prafulla Chandra Pant 29 June 2004 13 August 2014 29 August 2017 10 years, 45 days 3 years, 17 days 13 years, 62 days 2nd CJ of Meghalaya HC
2 Sudhanshu Dhulia 1 November 2008 9 May 2022 9 August 2025 13 years, 189 days 3 years, 93 days 16 years, 282 days 39th CJ of Gauhati HC
  1. ↑ Includes both tenure as High Court Judge as well as Supreme Court Judge

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Uttaranchal High Court Inaugurated". Zee News. 9 November 2000.
  2. ↑ "About us: HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND".
  3. ↑ Birds to holy rivers: A list of everything India considers “legal persons”, Quartz, September 2019.
  4. ↑ Rohit Sagar & Anor. versus State of Uttarakhand & Ors., Writ Petition (CRL) No. 2254 of 2021 (Uttarakhand High Court 16 December 2021).
  5. ↑ Jha, Prashant. "Uttarakhand High Court grants police protection to gay couple threatened by parents". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  6. ↑ Sitting judges of the Uttarakhand High Court
  7. ↑ "Former Hon'ble Chief Justices & Hon'ble Judges | High Court of Uttarakhand | India". Retrieved 26 June 2026.
  8. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr. Justice Prakash Chandra Verma". www.allahabadhighcourt.in. Retrieved 29 September 2025.
  9. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr Justice B.C.Kandpal | High Court of Uttarakhand | India". Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  10. ↑ "High Court of Jharkhand, India". jharkhandhighcourt.nic.in. Retrieved 9 October 2025.
  11. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari | High Court of Uttarakhand | India". Retrieved 30 June 2026.
  12. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr Justice B.C.Kandpal | High Court of Uttarakhand | India". Retrieved 14 October 2025.
  13. ↑ "Appointment of VK Bisht as Acting Chief Justice".
  14. ↑ "Hon'ble Mr. Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari | High Court of Uttarakhand | India". Retrieved 30 June 2026.
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