NEW DELHI: In a major judicial reshuffle, the government on Monday notified the appointment of new chief justices of the Madhya Pradesh, Gauhati, Patna and Jharkhand high courts. Additionally, four chief justices and 18 judges, including three from the Punjab and Haryana High Court, have been transferred.
Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan of the Himachal Pradesh High Court has been named Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court, while Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has been elevated as the Chief Justice of the same court. Others appointed as chief justices are Justice Vibhu Bakhru (Karnataka), Justice Ashutosh Kumar (Gauhati) and Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi (Patna).
Rajasthan High Court Chief Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava has been shifted to the Madras High Court, Tripura High Court Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh to Telangana, Jharkhand High Court Chief Justice Mamidanna Satya Ratna Sri Ramachandra Rao to Tripura and Madras High Court Chief Justice Shriram Kalpathi Rajendran to Rajasthan.
Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma, Justice Anil Kshetarpal and Justice Sudhir Singh of the Punjab and Haryana High Court have been shifted to Rajasthan, Delhi and Patna, respectively.
Other judges who have been transferred are: Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra (Allahabad to Punjab and Haryana HC), Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak (Gauhati to Orissa), Justice Nitin Wasudeo Sambre (Bombay to Delhi), Justice Jayant Banerji (Allahabad to Karnataka), Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh (Kerala to Karnataka), Justice Shree Chandrashekhar (Rajasthan to Bombay), Justice Sujoy Paul (Telangana to Calcutta), Justice V Kameswar Rao (Karnataka to Delhi), Justice Lanusungkum Jamir (Gauhati to Calcutta), Justice Suman Shyam (Gauhati to Bombay), Justice Vivek Kumar Singh (Madras to Madhya Pradesh), Justice Vivek Chaudhary (Allahabad to Delhi), Justice Battu Devanand (Madras to Andhra Pradesh), Justice Om Prakash Shukla (Allahabad to Delhi) and Justice Arun Monga (Rajasthan to Delhi).
The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended most of these transfers in May.