Justice Pushpendra Singh Bhati was sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Wednesday at a ceremony held at the Shalimar Auditorium of Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST), Kashmir.

Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, who is currently discharging the functions of the J&K Lieutenant Governor during Manoj Sinha’s leave, administered the oath of office to Justice Bhati.

The ceremony commenced with the rendition of the national song, followed by the National Anthem. The Registrar General of the High Court read out the President’s warrant of appointment, following which Justice Bhati took the oath of office.

Justice Bhati and the Lieutenant Governor thereafter signed the oath roll. The warrant of appointment was subsequently formally handed over to the newly appointed Chief Justice. The ceremony concluded with the national song and the National Anthem.

Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, National Conference president Farooq Abdullah, Legislative Assembly Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather, senior judges of the High Court, Cabinet ministers, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo, Director General of Police Nalin Prabhat, and other senior civil and police officials were among those present.

Born on September 21, 1970, Justice Bhati previously served as a judge of the Rajasthan High Court. He holds an LL.M. in Mercantile Law and a Ph.D. focusing on public employment and the role of the Supreme Court of India.

Justice Bhati enrolled as an advocate in 1992 and practised for nearly 25 years before the Rajasthan High Court. His practice covered writ jurisdiction, criminal law, public interest litigation and revenue matters.

During his legal career, he also served as Additional Advocate General for Rajasthan and as Standing Counsel for the Indian Railways for 16 years.

He was appointed as an Additional Judge of the Rajasthan High Court on November 16, 2016, and was made a permanent judge on March 16, 2018.