Centre Elevates 11 Additional Judges to Permanent Judges in Punjab and Haryana HC

The Union Ministry of Law and Justice on Wednesday notified the elevation of 11 additional judges to the position of Permanent Judges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Notification issued in this regard stated that “In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of India, the President of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is pleased to appoint 11 Additional Judges as Permanent Judges in the Punjab and Haryana High Court.”

Minister of Law and Justice, Arjun Ram Meghwal, extended his best wishes to these judges on this occasion. Their names had also been recommended for permanent appointment by the Supreme Court Collegium.

The Collegium, comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna, had recommended the appointment of 11 Additional Judges from the High Court of Punjab and Haryana as permanent judges. The judges recommended for permanent appointment are Justices Nidhi Gupta, Sanjay Vashisth, Tribhuvan Dahiya, Namit Kumar, Harkesh Manuja, Aman Chaudhary, Naresh Singh, Harsh Bunger, Jagmohan Bansal, Deepak Manchanda, and Alok Jain.

The Supreme Court’s resolution noted that on May 20, 2023, the Collegium of the Punjab and Haryana High Court had unanimously recommended the names of these Additional Judges for permanent appointment. The Chief Ministers and Governors of the states of Punjab and Haryana have also concurred with this recommendation. The appointment process followed the Memorandum of Procedure, and judges of the Supreme Court familiar with the affairs of the Punjab and Haryana High Court were consulted to assess the suitability of these judges for permanent appointment.

The Supreme Court conducted a thorough assessment of the merit and suitability of these Additional Judges for permanent appointment, including a review of the material on record, opinions of consultee-judges, and the report of the Judgment Evaluation Committee.