The Central Government has appointed Acting Chief Justices to the High Courts of Punjab and Haryana, Bombay, Madhya Pradesh, and Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, following the elevation of their respective Chief Justices to the Supreme Court of India.
The appointments come in the wake of the elevation of Justice Sheel Nagu, former Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court; Justice Shree Chandrashekhar, former Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court; Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, former Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court; and Justice Arun Palli, former Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh, as judges of the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant administered the oath of office and secrecy to the four former High Court Chief Justices, along with Senior Advocate V. Mohana, during a swearing-in ceremony held at the Supreme Court premises on Tuesday. The appointments have taken the working strength of the Apex Court to 37 and created vacancies in the offices of Chief Justices in their respective High Courts.
To ensure continuity in judicial administration, the Ministry of Law and Justice issued a gazette notification on June 1, appointing Acting Chief Justices to these courts until regular appointments are made.
According to the notification, Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra has been appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Mishra was elevated as a judge of the Allahabad High Court in 2014 and was transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in July 2025. He is due to retire in November 2030. Following the elevation of Justice Sheel Nagu, the Punjab and Haryana High Court is currently functioning with 57 judges against its sanctioned strength of 85.
Justice Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge has been appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court. Elevated as a judge of the Bombay High Court in 2013, Justice Ghuge is scheduled to retire in July 2028. The Bombay High Court presently has a working strength of 77 judges against a sanctioned strength of 94.
The Union Government has also appointed Justice Vivek Rusia as the Acting Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Justice Rusia joined the Bench of the High Court in 2016 and is set to retire in August 2031. The Madhya Pradesh High Court is presently functioning with 40 judges against a sanctioned strength of 53.
Justice Sanjeev Kumar has been appointed as the Acting Chief Justice of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. He was elevated as a judge of the High Court in 2017 and is due to retire in April 2028. The High Court currently has a working strength of 12 judges against its sanctioned strength of 25.
The appointments have been made in exercise of the constitutional mechanism that permits the appointment of an Acting Chief Justice whenever the office of the Chief Justice falls vacant or a permanent successor has not yet assumed charge. Acting Chief Justices are vested with the full administrative and judicial authority of the office and are responsible for ensuring the uninterrupted functioning of the High Courts until regular Chief Justices are appointed.
Except Justice Mishra, all the newly appointed Acting Chief Justices have more than six months of remaining tenure in their respective parent High Courts. Given their residual service, it is expected that the Supreme Court Collegium may soon consider recommendations for the appointment of permanent Chief Justices to these constitutional courts.
The latest appointments are aimed at maintaining institutional stability and administrative continuity in the High Courts following the recent elevation of four sitting Chief Justices to the Supreme Court.
The post Centre appoints Acting Chief Justices to 4 High Courts following Supreme Court elevations appeared first on India Legal.