Justice Ashutosh Kumar is slated to be the next Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court. (Image Courtesy: https://patnahighcourt.gov.in/)
Appointments of four other CJs cleared
New Delhi, July 14 (MExN): Justice Ashutosh Kumar, the Acting Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, has been appointed as the next Chief Justice (CJ) of the Gauhati High Court.
His appointment was among five new CJ appointments cleared for the High Courts of Gauhati, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, and Patna. This was announced in a press communiqué issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice on Monday regarding appointments and transfers of High Court Chief Justices.
The position of Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court fell vacant after Justice Vijay Bishnoi was elevated to the Supreme Court and assumed office on May 30, 2025. Since then, Justice Lanusungkum Jamir has been serving as the Acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court.
The Gauhati High Court is the High Court of Assam, Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh.
Meanwhile, Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, Acting CJ of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, has been appointed as the regular Chief Justice of the same court. Justice Vibhu Bakhru of the Delhi High Court has been elevated as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court.
Justice Vipul Manubhai Pancholi has been appointed as the Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, while Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan, a judge of the Himachal Pradesh High Court, will assume charge as the new Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.
According to reports, the appointments were made based on the recommendations of the Supreme Court Collegium in May.
The communiqué from the Law Ministry also announced the transfer of four Chief Justices: Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava from Rajasthan to the Madras High Court; Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh from Tripura to the Telangana High Court; Justice MS Ramachandra Rao from Jharkhand to the Tripura High Court; and Justice KR Shriram from Madras to the Rajasthan High Court.
Appointments as new Chief Justices of High Courts | ||
S. No. | Name of the Judge and present High Court (S/Shri Justice) | Appointment as Chief Justices of |
Sanjeev Sachdeva, Acting CJ (Madhya Pradesh) | Madhya Pradesh High Court | |
Vibhu Bakhru, Judge (Delhi) | Karnataka High Court | |
Ashutosh Kumar, Acting CJ, (Patna) | Gauhati High Court | |
Vipul Manubhai Pancholi, Judge, (Patna) | Patna High Court | |
Tarlok Singh Chauhan, Judge (Himachal Pradesh) | Jharkhand High Court | |
Source: Union Ministry of Law and Justice via PIB Delhi.
Transfers to HC Chief Justices | |||
| Name of the Chief Justice (Shri Justice) | Transferred from | Transferred to |
Manindra Mohan Shrivastava | Rajasthan | Madras | |
Aparesh Kumar Singh | Tripura | Telangana | |
M.S. Ramachandra Rao | Jharkhand | Tripura | |
K.R. Shriram | Madras | Rajasthan | |
Source: Union Ministry of Law and Justice via PIB Delhi.
