J&K and Ladakh Chief Justice Gita Mittal administered the oath of office on Friday to Javed Iqbal Wani, the 13th judge of the combined High Court.
The ceremony was held around 11 a.m. and was webcast live. Justice Ali Mohammad Magrey and Justice Deeraj Singh Thakur were personally present on the occasion, while other sitting judges joined the ceremony through video conferencing.
Justice Wani has become the second Kashmir-based judge in the High Court of Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh, after Justice Magrey. The President, High Court Bar Association-Jammu, congratulated the newly appointed judge.
With his appointment, the strength of J&K High Court has increased to thirteen. The High Court has a sanctioned strength of 17 Judges — 13 permanent and four additional judges.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the President of India had issued a warrant on the appointment of Justice Wani, following the recommendations made by the Supreme Court Collegium.
Justice Wani is the son-in-law of incarcerated High Court Bar Association (HCBA) president Mian Qayoom. Mr. Qayoom was arrested during the clampdown launched on August 5 last year, ahead of the Centre’s move to revoke J&K’s special status. Recently, J&K’s Advocate General had told the High Court that Mr. Qayoom nourished and nurtured “secessionist ideology” and argued against his release “till he shuns the ideology.”
Justice Wani, as a government advocate, had opposed the release of Mr. Qayoom, booked under the stringent Public Safety Act (PSA), and also represented the Army in many cases, including the alleged Pathribal fake encounter case. Former Governor Satya Pal Malik had appointed him as senior additional advocate general last year.
Justice Wani is a gold medallist in Law from the Kashmir University and had started his practice in 1990.