IN A MEETING THAT TOOK PLACE YESTERDAY, the Supreme Court Collegium decided to appoint chief justices to five high courts. It is also learnt that chief justices have been reshuffling from one high court to another.
The collegium headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI) B.R. Gavai has recommended the appointment of Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Justice Sachdeva hails from the Delhi High Court. He was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court on transfer on May 31, 2024. Presently, he has been functioning there as Acting Chief Justice after the retirement of Chief Justice Suresh Kait on May 23, 2025. Justice Sachdeva was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court on April 17, 2013. He is slated to retire on December 25, 2026.
The collegium which also comprised Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath also recommended to appoint Delhi High Court's Justice Vibhu Bakhru as chief justice of the Karnataka High Court. The name of the incumbent chief justice of the Karnataka High Court N.V. Anjaria was recommended for elevation to the Supreme Court yesterday.
Justice Bakhru is currently the senior-most judge in the Delhi High Court. He was appointed as judge there on April 17, 2013. He is slated to retire on November 1, 2028.
If both recommendations are cleared by the Union government, there will be two judges from the Delhi High Court as chief justices in two different high courts.
The collegium has also recommended the appointment of Patna High Court's Justice Ashutosh Kumar as the chief justice of the Gauhati High Court. He has been functioning as Acting Chief Justice there since January 16, 2025, when the then incumbent Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran was appointed to the Supreme Court. Justice Kumar was appointed as a judge of the Patna High Court on May 15, 2014. He is slated to retire on September 30, 2028. At present, there is no chief justice from the Patna High Court.
The collegium has also decided to appoint Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi as Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. Justice Pancholi is originally from the Gujarat High Court. He has been on transfer to the Patna High Court since July 24, 2023. He was appointed as additional judge of the Gujarat High Court on October 1, 2014. He is slated to retire on May 27, 2030. The Gujarat High Court will continue to be represented in the appointment of chief justices after the elevation of Justice Anjaria to the Supreme Court.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court's judge, Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan has been recommended for appointment as the chief justice of the Jharkhand High Court. The incumbent chief justice of Jharkhand, M.S. Sri Ramachandra Rao, is being sent to the Tripura High Court, while the chief justice of Tripura High Court, Justice Apresh Kumar Singh, is being sent to the Telangana High Court. This has been reported by the Times of India, though an official statement to this effect is yet to be issued by the Supreme Court of India.
Justice Chauhan was appointed as a judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court on February 23, 2014. He is slated to retire on January 8, 2026.
At present, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has no representation in the appointment of chief justices of the high courts.
As per para 3 of the Memorandum of Procedure relating to the appointment of the Chief Justice of a High Court, a fair representation is to be given to various High Courts for the selection of Chief Justices. While some high courts are represented by more than one chief justice in the selection of chief justices, many high courts continue to remain unrepresented, even though they have a significant number of judges. For example, there is no chief justice from the Kerala High Court and Orissa High Court, while the High Courts of Rajasthan, Punjab and Haryana, and Bombay have two chief justices. There will be two chief justices from the Delhi High Court as well, if the government clears the two latest recommendations of the collegium.
There are no chief justices from north-eastern high courts, namely the Gauhati High Court, Manipur High Court, Meghalaya High Court, Sikkim High Court and the Tripura High Court. The High Court of Uttarakhand also does not have a chief justice from it.
The Himachal Pradesh High Court will have its representation if the government clears the appointment of Justice Chauhan.