Srinagar, Nov 07, KDC: The Government of the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir has informed the High Court that the process of appointing an Advocate General is underway and will be finalized within a month.
The submission was made before a Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Dr. Pushpendra Singh Bhati and Justice Rajnesh Oswal during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation filed by Harsh Dubey, who appeared in person.
During the proceedings on Thursday (November 5, 2026), Senior Additional Advocate General (Sr. AAG) Monika Kohli, representing the UT of J&K and other respondents, apprised the bench of the administration’s timeline for filling the position.
“Ms. Monika Kohli, learned Sr. AAG, on instructions, submits that the necessary appointment of the Advocate General is in the process and due appointment shall be made within a period of one month,” the High Court recorded in its order.
Taking note of the statement made on instructions by the government counsel, the Division Bench scheduled the matter for its next hearing on December 8, 2026.
Pertinently, the constitutional post of Advocate General has been lying vacant since October 2024, following the resignation of former Advocate General D.C. Raina shortly after the newly elected government assumed office.
The unprecedented vacancy triggered sharp reactions from judges, lawyers, and civil society, as the absence of the state’s principal law officer paralyzed critical statutory mechanisms and government litigation across the Union Territory.
The High Court had repeatedly flagged the crisis in various proceedings. In a prominent case concerning the administration of the Shri Nav Durga Jhaleri Mata shrine, a single bench of Justice Rahul Bharti noted that the absence of the AG had left Section 92 of the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC)—which authorizes only the Advocate General to institute suits concerning public religious and charitable trusts—a “dead letter of law.”
Justice Bharti stressed that the Court was forced to intervene in matters involving the affairs of a deity—considered a “perpetual minor” under the law—without institutional legal representation from the state’s top law officer.
The legal fraternity also bore the immediate brunt of the delay. The J&K High Court Bar Association, Jammu, previously submitted representations to the administration urging the immediate appointment of a new AG. Association President K. Nirmal Kotwal pointed out that because the Advocate General serves as the ex-officio chairperson of the Advocates’ Welfare Fund Trustee Committee, the disbursement of financial assistance to struggling lawyers was completely stalled.
“We are facing serious procedural deadlocks in matters concerning the welfare of our members. This is not just an administrative gap — it is a human one,” Kotwal had said, stressing that “justice delayed is justice denied.”
With the UT government’s formal assurance now on record before the Chief Justice’s bench, the court expects to resolve this extensive procedural and statutory deadlock by early December. (KDC)
