New chief justices for Andhra Pradesh and Bombay high courts; Manipur pending

After clearing the appointments of chief justices to the Gujarat, Kerala, Orissa and Telangana high courts last week, the Union government has finally appointed chief justices to the Andhra Pradesh and Bombay high courts, leaving the Manipur High Court's recommendation pending. 

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ON Monday, July 24, 2023, the Union government notified the appointment of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur of the Bombay High Court as the Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court.

The government also cleared the appointment of the Allahabad High Court judge Devendra Kumar Upadhyay as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.

He was appointed as a judge of his parent high court on March 3, 2013 and is slated to retire on April 24, 2026.

Justice Thakur originally hails from the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. He has been working at the Bombay High Court since June 10, 2022.

He was appointed as a judge of his parent high court on March 3, 2013 and is slated to retire on April 24, 2026.

Earlier, his name was recommended for appointment as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court by the Supreme Court Collegium on February 9, 2023, but the government did not act on the recommendation.

On July 5, 2023, the collegium altered its earlier recommendation to appoint Justice Thakur as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court and substituted it with a recommendation to appoint him as Chief Justice of the Andhra Pradesh High Court instead.

Justice Upadhyay was appointed as a judge of the Allahabad High Court on November 21, 2011. He is slated to retire on June 15, 2027.

On July 5, 2023, the collegium recommended his name for appointment as Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court.

Last week, the Union government notified the appointments of chief justices to the high courts of Gujarat, Kerala, Orissa and Telangana, while holding back the appointment of chief justices of the high courts of Bombay and Andhra Pradesh, which it has cleared now.

The government is yet to notify the appointment of the Delhi High Court's Justice Siddharth Mridul as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court.