J&K Govt Extends Ad-Hoc Appointment Of 16 Civil Judges As District Judges

SRINAGAR, Sept 2: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has extended the ad-hoc appointment of 16 Civil Judges (Senior Division) as District Judges (Entry Level) for another six months or until the posts are filled through regular appointments, whichever is earlier.

The extensions were approved through two separate government orders issued by the Department of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs on September 1, 2026, following recommendations from the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh under Rule 20 of the Jammu and Kashmir Higher Judicial Service Rules, 2009.

Under Government Order No. 10861-JK(LD) of 2026, the ad-hoc appointment of six officers has been extended from the expiry of their previous term on August 5, 2026. They are Ramesh Lal, Parvin Pandoh, Faizan Ul Haq Iqbal, Noor Mohd. Mir, Swati Gupta and Rafia Hassan.

A second order, Government Order No. 10862-JK(LD) of 2026, extends the ad-hoc appointment of 10 other Civil Judges for six months from the expiry of their existing term on October 15, 2026.

The officers covered under the second order are Mir Wajahat, Aadil Mushtaq, Fozia Paul, Mehreen Mushtaq, Feroz Ahmad Khan, Imran Hussain Wani, Preet Simran Kour, Fayaz Ahmad Qureshi, Umesh Sharma and Sheikh Gowher Hussain.

The government orders clarify that the extensions are purely ad-hoc and will not confer any right to seniority or any other superior claim over candidates who may be appointed through regular selection under the Direct or Limited Competitive Examination (LCE) quota.

The appointments will therefore remain subject to regular filling of the posts in accordance with the applicable recruitment rules and selection process. (Agencies)