About us

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 18th 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.  The building was originally designed with five courtrooms, but more have been added over time. In 2007, a large Chief Justice Court Block and a Lawyers’ Chambers Block were also built.

The sanctioned strength of Judges at the time of creation of High Court was 7 which have been increased gradually to 11 as of now. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Ashok A. Desai was the founder Chief Justice of the High Court who was transferred from High Court of Allahabad along with Hon’ble Mr. Justice P.C.Verma, the Senior Judge and Hon’ble Mr. Justice M.C.Jain. Presently, Hon’ble Chief Justice, Hon’ble Ms. Justice Ritu Bahari is the first women Chief Justice of the High Court.

Hon’ble Mr. Justice S.H. Kapadia and Hon’ble Mr. Justice J.S. Khehar, who have adorned the office of Chief Justice in this High Court, became Chief Justices of India.

Judges of Uttarakhand High Court, Hon’ble Mr. Justice P.C. Pant and Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sudhanshu Dhuliya have been elevated to Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. Hon’ble Mr. Justice V.S. Sirpurkar, Hon’ble Mr. Justice Cyriac Joseph and Hon’ble Mr. Justice K. M. Joseph who have adorned the office of Chief Justice in this High Court, have also been elevated to Hon’ble Supreme Court of India. Hon’ble Mr. Justice Vijay Kumar Bisht was elevated as Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court.

In March 2017, Uttarakhand High Court has held that the rivers Ganges and Yamuna are “living entities”.