Kohima, July 23: Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio on Thursday met Justice Yarenjungla Longkumer following her appointment as an Additional Judge of the Gauhati High Court, describing her elevation as “a proud milestone for Nagaland” and an inspiration for young women.
Receiving Justice Longkumer at his office, Rio said her appointment marked a significant moment in the state’s judicial history. In a post on X, he wished her “a distinguished tenure in the service of justice.”
Justice Longkumer created history in February this year by becoming the first Naga woman to be elevated as a judge of the Gauhati High Court. Appointed for a two-year term, she is currently Nagaland’s sole representative on the High Court bench, which has jurisdiction over Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.
A native of Kohima, Justice Longkumer studied at Little Flower School before graduating from Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, and earning her law degree from Delhi University’s Campus Law Centre. She joined the Bar in 1992 and entered the higher judicial service after topping the Gauhati High Court’s Grade-I recruitment examination in 2013.
Over the years, she has served as District and Sessions Judge in Kohima and Dimapur, Special Judge (Lokayukta), Registrar of the Kohima Bench of the Gauhati High Court and Secretary (Judicial) in Nagaland’s Law and Justice Department.
Her elevation has been widely welcomed across Nagaland, with legal bodies and civil society describing it as a landmark achievement for the state’s judiciary and for women’s representation in constitutional institutions.
