Judicial reshuffle: Five high court CJs appointed

In a major judicial reshuffle, the government on Monday notified the appointment of new Chief Justices in high courts of Madhya Pradesh, Gauhati, Patna and Jharkhand and transfer of four other chief justices besides 18 judges, including three from the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In exercise of the power conferred by clause (1) of Article 217 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, to be Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office, a Department of Justice notification read.

Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the Delhi High Court has been appointed as the new Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court. Justice Ashutosh Kumar of the Patna High Court has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court while Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi of Patna High Court will be the Chief Justice of the same high court.

A similar notification has been issued for Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, appointing him as the Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.

Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava has been transferred to be Chief Justice of the Madras High Court while Tripura High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh has been ntransferred as the Chief Justice of the Telangana High Court. Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Mamidanna Satya Ratna Sri Ramachandra Rao has been transferred to be the Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court while Madras High Court Chief Justice Shriram Kalpathi Rajendran has been transferred as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court.

Besides, 18 high court judges, including three from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, have been transferred.

Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma and Justice Anil Kshetarpal of the Punjab and Haryana High Court have been transferred to the Rajasthan High Court and the Delhi High Court, respectively. Justice Sudhir Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court has been transferred back to the Patna High Court.

Other judges transferred included: Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra — from Allahabad to the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak — from the Gauhati High Court to the Orissa High Court; Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre — from the Bombay High Court to the Delhi High Court; Justice Jayant Banerji — from the Allahabad High Court to the Karnataka High Court; Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh — from the Kerala High Court to the Karnataka High Court; Justice Shree Chandrashekhar — from the Rajasthan High Court to the Bombay High Court; Justice Sujoy Paul — from the Telangana High Court to the Calcutta High Court; Justice V Kameswar Rao from Karnataka High Court to Delhi High Court; Justice Lanusungkum Jamir — from Gauhati High Court to Calcutta High Court; Justice Suman Shyam — from the Gauhati High Court to the Bombay High Court; Justice Vivek Kumar Singh — from the Madras High Court to the Madhya Pradesh High Court; Justice Vivek Chaudhary — from the Allahabad High Court to the Delhi High Court; Justice Battu Devanand — back to the Andhra Pradesh High Court from the Madras High Court; Justice Om Prakash Shukla — from the Allahabad High Court to the Delhi High Court; and Justice Arun Monga — from the Rajasthan High Court to the Delhi High Court.

The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended most of these transfers in May this year.

India