Five high courts get new chief justices; Bombay for all of four days

THE Union government on Friday appointed new chief justices to the high courts of Bombay, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madras and Rajasthan.

Two days after acting Chief Justice of the Madras High Court T. Raja retired without being transferred to the Rajasthan High Court as sought by the Supreme Court Collegium, the Union government on Friday notified the appointment of Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

The Madras High Court has not had a permanent Chief Justice since September 13 last year.

The collegium comprising Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud and Justices S.K. Kaul and K.M. Joseph had recommended the appointment of Justice Gangapurwala as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court on April 19. Presently, he is working as acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.

Justice Gangapurwala is the senior-most judge of the High Court of Bombay and has been functioning there since his elevation on March 13, 2010. He will be demitting office on May 23, 2024.

The Union government has also notified the appointment of the Bombay High Court judge Ramesh D. Dhanuka as Chief Justice of that High Court. However, he will be serving as Chief Justice only for four days as he is slated to retire on May 30. The collegium recommended his appointment as Chief Justice on April 19.

Justice Ramesh D. Dhanuka was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Bombay on January 23, 2012. Bombay High Court has been working without a regular Chief Justice since the elevation of the then Chief Justice Dipankar Dutta to the Supreme Court on December 12 last year.

The government has also notified the appointment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court's Justice Augustine George Masih as the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court. The office of the Chief Justice of the Rajasthan High Court had been lying vacant since the elevation of its previous Chief Justice, Justice Pankaj Mithal, to the Supreme Court in February. The Collegium had made a recommendation to appoint Justice Masih as Chief Justice on April 19.

Justice Masih was appointed as a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on July 10, 2008, and is due to retire on March 3, 2025.

The government has also cleared the appointment of Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao as Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court. He is presently a judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The recommendation to appoint him as Chief Justice was made by the collegium on April 19.

Justice Rao was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on June 29, 2012. On the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, he opted for Telangana as his parent high court. He is functioning on transfer as a judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana since 12 October 2021. He is due to retire on August 8, 2028.

The acting Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court S.V. Bhatti has also been appointed as regular Chief Justice of that high court. Justice Bhatti is the senior-most judge from the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and is presently functioning on transfer as the senior-most judge of the Kerala High Court. He is due to retire on May 5, 2024.

On February 9 this year, the collegium recommended the appointment of Bombay High Court judge Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court. However, the government continues to hold back the appointment for reasons not available in the public domain. The Manipur High Court has been functioning without a regular Chief Justice since February 6 this year.