Uttarakhand High Court

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.

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 Chief Justice Court Block and a Block of Lawyers’ chambers were built in 2007.^[2]

In 2019, Vinod Prasad Raturi challenged administrative decisions regarding his seniority and postings in Uttarakhand following the formation of the state. The matter was initially heard in the Uttarakhand High Court, which emphasized procedural fairness and ruled that affected officers must be given an opportunity to be heard before any departmental action was taken.^[3] Following the High Court's decision, Vinod Prasad Raturi filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court of India to seek review of certain administrative orders affecting his career. On 5 March 2021, the Supreme Court allowed aspects of his petition, directing that the High Court should ensure all affected parties are heard and procedural requirements are fully observed. The judgment effectively ruled in favor of Raturi, upholding his claims regarding seniority and procedural fairness, including the allocation of his 2005 cadre. This judgment is regarded as a reference point for bureaucratic accountability and fairness in administrative promotions and postings in Uttarakhand.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[6][7]

There are currently ten sitting judges including the Chief Justice, with post of one additional judge lying vacant.^[8] Following is the list of the current serving judges of the Uttarakhand High Court, ordered by seniority.

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

• Chief Justice of Uttarakhand
• List of judges of the Uttarakhand High Court
• High courts of India
• List of sitting judges of the high courts of India
• Supreme Court of India
• List of sitting judges of the Supreme Court of India
• Bar Council of Uttarakhand
• District Courts of India
• Nyaya panchayat
• Uttarakhand Lok Adalat
• Uttarakhand Lokayukta
• Judiciary of India

• The High Court of Uttarakhand, official website
• Jurisdiction and Seats of Indian High Courts
• Judge strength in High Courts increased
• High Court of Uttarakhand