High Court of Uttarakhand at Nainital

About Us

The Parliament of India enacted Uttar Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2000 for creation of the state of Uttarakhand, (earlier Uttaranchal). On 09.11.2000, State of Uttarakhand was carved out of the State of Uttar Pradesh. Part IV of the Act provides for the establishment of High Court for the State of Uttarakhand and it became 18^th High Court in the country.

The Uttarakhand High Court is located in Nainital, a scenic hill station in the Kumaon region of the state. Nainital is referred to in the ‘Manas Khand’ of the ‘Skanda Purana’ as the Tri-Rishi-Sarovar, the lake of the three sages- Atri, Pulastya and Pulaha, who were reputed to have arrived here on a penitential pilgrimage, and, finding no water to quench their thirst dug a hole and siphoned water into it from Mansarovar, the sacred lake in Tibet. The Second important mythological reference to Nainital is as one of 64 ‘Shakti Peeths’. Naina Devi temple is located at the northern end of the lake. Thus name of Nainital derivate from Naina and the tal (Lake). The history can be traced back to 1862, when the British built it as a summer palace for the North West Province. After India gained independence, the North West Province became Uttar Pradesh and Nainital became the state’s summer capital.

The High Court is established in a magnificent earthquake-resistance building constructed in 1900 by Santoni MacDonald. The building was originally known as the old Secretariat and was built in the Gothic style. There is a park in front of the building and in the background, Naina peak is situated which is the highest peak of the town, at an altitude of 2611 meters.