Srinagar: Justice Rajesh Bindal has been on Tuesday appointed as the acting chief justice of Jammu and Kashmir High Court by the president of India.
According to a notification issued by the Ministry of Law and Justice, the President of India "in exercise of the power conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India is pleased to appoint Justice Rajesh Bindal, senior-most Judge of Common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh..."
"...to perform the duties of the office of Chief Justice of that High Court with effect from 09 December 2020 consequent upon the retirement of Justice Gita Mittal, Chief Justice, Common High Court for the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir and Union Territory of Ladakh," the notification reads.
Earlier, a Full Court Reference at the Jammu & Kashmir High Court took place to bid farewell to Justice Gita Mittal.
"When God closes one door, he opens palace doors for you; I truly believe that. I'm sure another door will open for me tomorrow," Justice Mittal said in her farewell speech.
Justice Bindal, as per the High Court website, obtained his degree in law from the Kurukshetra University in 1985 and started practising in the Punjab & Haryana High Court. He represented the Chandigarh Administration before Central Administrative Tribunal for more than a decade till 2004.
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Till his elevation as Judge in 2006, he represented Punjab & Haryana regions of Employees Provident Fund Organization before the High Court and Central Administrative Tribunal from 1992. He represented State of Haryana in settlement of the dispute concerning Satluj Yamuna Water with the State of Punjab before the Eradi Tribunal and the Supreme Court.
Justice Bindal was elevated as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on March 22, 2006. During his tenure in Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice Bindal disposed of around 80,000 cases. Following his transfer to Jammu & Kashmir High Court, Justice Bindal took the oath of office on November 19, 2018.
Currently, he is Chairman of the Building and Infrastructure Committee, Finance Committee, Information Technology Committee, State Court Management Systems Committee, in the Jammu & Kashmir High Court and also Chairman of the Jammu & Kashmir State Legal Service Authority.
