Jammu: The Supreme Court Collegium on Thursday recommended the appointment of Yash Paul Bourney, a senior judicial officer of the Jammu and Kashmir Higher Judicial Service, as a Judge of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The recommendation was approved at the Collegium meeting held on September 10, according to a resolution issued by the Supreme Court.
Bourney is presently serving as a Member of the J&K Special Tribunal, Jammu, on deputation. He belongs to the District and Sessions Judge cadre in the Super Time Scale.
His name had earlier been recommended by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh Collegium for elevation from the judicial officers’ quota, along with 10 advocates from the Bar.
Bourney entered the J&K judicial service in December 1997 and was inducted into the District Judge cadre in 2011. During his judicial career, he has held several assignments in the subordinate judiciary and judicial administration.
He served as Principal District and Sessions Judge, Jammu, before being transferred in November 2025 as Member of the J&K Special Tribunal, Jammu, on deputation.
He has also been associated with the J&K Judicial Academy, including as chair of a technical session on judgment writing and application of law in 2022.
Bourney was the only judicial officer among the 11 names recommended earlier by the High Court Collegium for elevation to the High Court. The remaining recommendations were from members of the Bar.
The Supreme Court Collegium resolution stated that it had approved the proposal for his appointment as a Judge of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
