ABOUT DISTRICT COURT

Latehar was elevated from sub-divisional status to a district on 4 April 2001, vide Jharkhand Government Notification No 946 dated 04.04.2001.

Latehar was a part of Palamau District as Sub-division since 1924 and before the separation of Latehar from Palamau District, all the Judicial proceedings were taken care of by the Judgeship of Daltonganj. Parallel to the Civil Court of Daltonganj three (03) sub divisional courts were functional in Latehar namely: (a) the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, (b) the Court of Sub divisional Judicial Magistrate and (c) the Court of Munsif.

The Civil Court of Latehar was established on 29th September,2001 by the emergence of three more courts i.e. Court of District Judge, Court of Additional District Judge & Court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate and Sri Mishri Lal Choudhary was appointed as the first District & Sessions Judge of the Judgeship of Latehar.

The Judgeship of Latehar was honoured to work under the abled leadership of various District & Sessions Judges and Principal District & Sessions Judges of Latehar viz (1) Sri Mishri Lal Choudhary (29.09.2001 to 28.02.2003), (2) Sri Amitav Kumar Gupta (01.03.03 to 11.05.04), (3) Sri Nageshwar Prasad (17.05.04 to 25.07.06), (4) Sri Srikrishna Murari (01.08.06 to 16.12.06), (5) Sri Bijay Kumar Pandit (22.12.06 to 03.04.07), (6) Sri Rajesh Kumar Dubey (04.04.07 to 02.08.10), (7) Sri Prakash Chandra Agarwal (06.08.10 to 31.07.11), (8) Sri Manoranjan Kavi (02.08.11 to 07.02.12), (9) Sri Kumar Ganesh Dutt (16.02.12 to 04.07.13), (10) Sri Rajesh Kumar Vaish (08.08.13 to 22.04.17), (11) Sri Vishnu Kant Sahay (24.04.17 to 31.01.21), (12) Sri Om Prakash Pandey (21.06.21 to 31.12.21),(13) Shri Akhil Kumar (25.03.2022 to 06.04.2024), and at present, the Judgeship of Latehar is flourishing and moving ahead towards the mission of Justice for all under the abled leadership of Shri Manoj Kumar Singh, Principal District & Sessions Judge, Latehar since 08.04.2024.

Latehar : At a Glance

The name of Latehar is named after the village of Latehar situated on Ranchi – Daltonganj road. It is 100 km by road from Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi. Latehar is famous for its rich natural beauty, forest, forest products and minerals. Since 1924, it has been an integral part of Palamu district as a part of the grant. It was recognized as Jharkhand Government’s notification no – 946, dated 04.04.2001 as a district with the status of the subdivision. Located in the northwest corner of Jharkhand, Latehar is situated in the Palamu region. It is surrounded by Chhattisgarh State and District headquarters, Ranchi, Lohardaga, Gumla, Palamu and Chatra districts. Latehar district headquarters is situated on longitude 84.511 9 8 and 23.74 on north latitude. It is mainly a tribal district, with about 45.54% of the population Scheduled Tribes and more than 66% of the total population including Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes. The total geographical area of the district is 3,622.50 sq. Km. As well as 200 km from the headquarters of a block headquarters. Is more than distance. There are two subdivisions (Latehar and Mahuadand) and nine blocks in the district, out of which the remote villages are scattered between dense jungle, mountainous areas and agricultural areas. The number of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes is predominantly highest and Latehar belongs to the tribal sub-planning area.

Maa Nagar Bhagwati Ugratara Temple is the center of unwavering faith:-
The fame of Maa Nagar Bhagwati Ugratara Temple as a Tantra Peetha has spread far and wide. Devotees from Jharkhand including Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal etc. come here throughout the year for worship. The temple was built in the 18th century by Pitambar Nath Shahi, the then ruler of Tori State, in the premises of his palace. At present, the existence of this royal palace has completely ended, but the courtyard of the temple is completely safe. It is said that King Pitambar Nath Shahi of Tori had received the statue of Maa Ugratara.In this regard, according to a folk tale popular here, a king dreamed that Goddess Bhagwati wanted to give him credit for some special work. Next day the king goes towards Mecca Mankeri village near Latehar for hunting. The famous Aurangabad river flows in this area. The remaining areas were covered with forest and hills.The king feels thirsty while roaming around in search of prey. He dips his finger to drink water from a reservoir near Mecca Mankeri. On removing water from his finger he sees that there are two small statues on his finger. These two were the same idols that he had seen in his dreams. The idols introduced themselves as Ugratara Lakshmi.Both of them instructed the king to replace them in his palace. Later the king consecrated her in his palace as the family goddess of his dynasty. After this this system continued for many days. Later, due to the arrival of Marathas in this area and many socio-political changes, this religious place became accessible to the common people also.