Centre Notifies New Chief Justices For HCs Of Himachal Pradesh And Uttarakhand

The central government notified the appointment of two high court chief justices, which are the Himachal Pradesh High Court and the Uttarakhand High Court.

New Delhi:The Central government on Monday notified the appointment of Chief Justices of two High Courts-- Himachal Pradesh High Court and Uttarakhand High Court. Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal in a post on X said, “In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, President Droupadi Murmu, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint the following Chief Justices-- GS Sandhawalia, judge, Punjab and Haryana High Court appointed as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court and Narendar G, judge, Andhra Pradesh High Court appointed as Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court”.

In September this year, the apex court collegium led by CJI recommended that Justice Narendar G be appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Uttarakhand consequent upon the retirement of Justice Ritu Bahri on October 10, 2024. Justice Narendar G was appointed as a judge of the High Court of Karnataka on January 2, 2015. He was transferred to the High Court of Andhra Pradesh on October 30, 2023, and has been functioning there since then. He is the senior-most Judge in his parent High Court and belongs to the Other Backward Class. Before his elevation as a judge of the High Court, he practised law at the High Court of Karnataka.

“He is an experienced judge with considerable experience on the judicial and administrative sides of the High Courts of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. At present, the High Court of Karnataka has no representation among the Chief Justices of the High Courts. The Collegium is of the considered view that Justice Narendar G is fit and suitable in all respects for being appointed as Chief Justice of the High Court of Uttarakhand”, said the collegium, in a resolution published on the apex court's website.

In September, the collegium also recommended Justice Sandhawalia's name for the Himachal Pradesh High Court. The collegium had said Justice G S Sandhawalia is the senior most puisne judge of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and he was appointed as a judge of that high court on 30 September 2011.