Gita Mittal

Honourable Justice Gita Mittal is the Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.^[1]

Justice Gita Mittal was a top lawyer in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India. She was called to Bench of the Delhi High Court as an Additional Judge on 16th July, 2004. She is first ever female Chief Justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court.

She has written extensively on ‘Access to Justice’; protection of human rights; impact of incarceration on women; corporate social responsibility; death penalty; impact of religion, culture, tradition on judging; corporate laws; procedure and intellectual property litigation and environmental laws and issues.

Justice Gita Mittal was invited to the Vatican City on an invitation by the Pope Francis to speak at a summit of Judges and Prosecutors on Human Trafficking.

The report of the Justice JS Verma Committee, constituted in the aftermath of the 2012 Gang Rape case to suggest amendments on Criminal Law has extensively drawn from the pronouncement in Virender v. State authored by Justice Gita Mittal.

She has designed the Vulnerable Witness Courtroom Project in the Delhi Trial Courts, which led to the first such court room in India being inaugurated on 16 September 2012. She is also the Chairperson of SAMADHAN - The Delhi High Court Mediation and Conciliation Centre. On Judicial side, Justice Gita Mittal is reputed for taking suo moto cognizance of matters of public interest. During her tenure in Delhi High Court, she has initiated several suo moto public interest cases on safety of women, juvenile justice, drug menace, public order, civic amenities and even individual cases of extreme injustice.

Justice Gita Mittal received the Distinguished Alumna Award in 2008 from the Vice President of India, awarded by the Lady Shriram College for Women.

In 2018, President Ram Nath Kovind awarded Justice Gita Mittal with the Nari Shakti Puruskar, India's highest civilian honour for women.

References