Chief Justices Appointed To 4 High Courts; Justice N Kotiswar Singh Made Chief Justice Of High Court of J&K and Ladakh

Four judges, including two who will retire later this month, were appointed as chief justices of high courts. Justice Sonia Giridhar Gokani, senior-most judge of the Gujarat High Court, was appointed its chief justice. Once she takes oath, she will be the only woman chief justice of a high court. India has 25 high courts. Justice Sabina is functioning as the acting chief justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.

However, Justice Gokani will demit office on February 25 upon attaining the age of 62. Justice Gokani is drawn from the judicial service of Gujarat. “Besides being the senior-most judge, the appointment of Justice Gokani as Chief Justice will bring a sense of inclusion and facilitate a representation for judges drawn from the services in the office of Chief Justice,” the SC Collegium had said while recommending her name.

The Collegium had asked the government to “immediately” appoint her as the chief justice following the elevation of Justice Aravind Kumar, the HC chief justice so far, as a judge of the Supreme Court. He was elevated to the top court.

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More About These Appointments:

• Justice Jaswant Singh, senior-most judge of the Orissa High Court was appointed as the chief justice of the Tripura High Court. Justice Jaswant Singh is due to retire on February 22.
  The office of the Tripura HC chief justice has been lying vacant for some time following retirement of Justice Indrajit Mahanty.
• While SC judges retire at 65, HC judges demit office on attaining the age of 62 years.
• Justice Sandeep Mehta, Judge, Rajasthan High Court has been appointed as chief justice of the Gauhati High Court while Justice N Kotiswar Singh, Judge, Gauhati High Court has been made chief justice of the High Court of J-K and Ladakh.
• Justice Singh’s appointment as the Chief Justice of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court was recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium on December 13, 2022. Justice Singh has served thrice as acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati and Manipur High Courts. Justice Singh was born on March 1, 1963 at Imphal, Manipur, to (Late) Justice N Ibotombi Singh of the Gauhati High Court, who had served as the first Advocate General of Manipur, and N Gomati Devi.
• He briefly practiced before the Supreme Court of India before shifting to the Gauhati High Court. He was designated as a Senior Advocate by the Gauhati High Court in 2008.
• In 2011, Justice Singh was sworn in as an additional judge of the Gauhati High Court and, in 2012, he was made a permanent judge.
• He was appointed a judge of the Manipur High Court upon its creation in the year 2013. He was later transferred to the Gauahti High Court in 2018.