Justice Siddharth Mridul to be Chief Justice of Manipur soon, Union government tells SC

The office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur fell vacant in February 2023 consequent upon the elevation of Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court of India.

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The Union government on Monday informed the Supreme Court that the file related to the appointment of Delhi High Court's Justice Siddharth Mridul as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court has been cleared and a formal notification to appoint him as chief justice of the state is likely to be issued shortly.

The information was revealed by the Attorney General for India R. Venkataramani before a Bench comprising Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sudhanshu Dhulia that has been hearing a contempt petition concerning the delay in appointing judges on the part of the government.

The Bench described Manipur as a "sensitive" state.

The office of the Chief Justice of the High Court of Manipur fell vacant in February 2023 consequent upon the elevation of Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court of India.

On February 9, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the name of Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur as Chief Justice of the high court.

However, on July 5, 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.

At the same time, the collegium recommended the name of Justice Mridul for the post of chief justice of the Manipur High Court.