Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai Appointed as Next Chief Justice of Patna High Court

Honorable President of India has notified the appointment of Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai as the next Chief Justice of the Patna High Court. This appointments comes after the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium and it comes ahead of the retirement of the incumbent Chief Justice. Jutice Rai currently serves as the Judge of the Sikkim High Court and had a distinguished judicial career spanning over three decades.

Centre Notifies Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai’s Appointment

The Union Government has officially announced the appointment of the Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court on June 2, 2026.

Respectable Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal announced the decision with notification and confirmed that the Justice Rai would assume office after the retirement of the current Chief Justice, Sangam Kumar Sahoo on 4th of Jun, 2026.

Educational Background and Early Career

Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai was born on July 12, 1964 and she had completed her schooling in the Gangtok and Kurseong.

She pursued a degree in the Political Science (Honors) from Lady Shri Ram College and later earned her law degree from the Campus Law Centre in the year 1989.

After enrolling with the Bar Council of Delhi in the year 1990, she practiced the law before the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India.

First Woman from Sikkim to Join the Judicial Service

A landmark achievement of her career came in the December 1990, when she joined the Sikkim Judicial Service as a Judicial Magistrate First Class cum Civil Judge.

With this appointment she became the first woman from Sikkim to hold that position and marking the important milestone in the state’s judicial history.

Over the period of years, she served in the several key judicial and administrative role and gained the extensive experience in court administration.

A landmark achievement in Justice Rai’s career came in December 1990, when she joined the Sikkim Judicial Service as a Judicial Magistrate First Class-cum-Civil Judge.

Distinguished Judicial Career

Throughout her career, Justice Rai held the numerous important positions within the judiciary which including the,

• Chief Judicial Magistrate
• District and Sessions Judge
• Registrar General of the Sikkim High Court
• Principal District and Sessions Judge

Her service in these positions contributed significantly to the strengthening of the judicial administration in Sikkim.

Elevation to the Sikkim High Court

Justice Rai was elevated as the permanent judge of the Sikkim High Court on 15th of April, 2015. This elevation was another important achievement and she became the first woman from Sikkim to be appointed to the High Court Bench.

With this she has been involved in the handling of the wide range of constitutional, civil, and criminal matter while contributing to the development of the jurisprudence in the state.