Andhra Pradesh, Telangana to get new chief justices as collegium okays shake-up

Source:-https://www.newindianexpress.com

NEW DELHI/VIJAYAWADA : The high courts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Odisha and Sikkim are all set to get new chief justices as part of a shuffle in the higher judiciary. Sources confirmed that the five-member collegium of the Supreme Court cleared the proposals on Monday.

They also involve a swap between Sikkim High Court Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari.

Delhi High Court judge Hima Kohli is expected to be elevated as the Chief Justice of Telangana, replacing Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chouhan who has been reportedly transferred to Uttarakhand.

Justice Chouhan was appointed CJ of the Telangana High Court in June 2019. The collegium discussed the proposals for a long time, sources said, adding that it sent the recommendations to the government on Tuesday. Orders to this effect and official notifications are expected to be issued shortly after the government approves the recommendations.

Justice Maheshwari assumed charge at the Andhra High Court on October 7, 2019 as its first Chief Justice after the High Court of Judicature in Hyderabad was divided between Andhra and Telangana. His tenure turned out to be eventful as the high court under his leadership handled some of the most sensitive cases, including the Jagan Mohan Reddy government’s decision to have three capitals for Andhra Pradesh.

Several observations and rulings of the court went against the government, ruffling the feathers of its supporters. The most controversial of them was the gag order on media issued in a case pertaining to the Amaravati land scam by a bench headed by Chief Justice Maheshwari.

Andhra, Telangana to get new chief justices as collegium okays shake-up

The bench had gagged the media from reporting on the contents of an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau against former advocate general Dammalapati Srinivas and 12 others, including daughters of senior Supreme Court judge Justice NV Ramana, in the alleged land scam and also stayed further probe. The interim gag order was subsequently stayed by the Supreme Court but it proved to be the proverbial last straw for the government.

Following the gag order, Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy shot off an eight-page letter to Chief Justice of India SA Bobde accusing Justice Ramana of influencing the sittings of the AP High Court, including the roster of a few judges, to protect opposition TDP leaders.

A bench headed by Justice Maheshwari is currently conducting daily hearings on petitions filed against the three-capital decision of the government. Besides, under Chief Justice Maheshwari, the court had ordered a CBI probe into the social media posts against the judiciary.

In another significant judgment, a bench headed by Chief Justice Maheshwari had struck down an ordinance promulgated by the government amending the Andhra Pradesh Panchayat Raj Act 1994 to curtail the tenure, eligibility and method of appointment of the State Election Commissioner (SEC) after the latter deferred local polls earlier this year. The Supreme Court upheld the verdict following an appeal by the government.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court currently has 18 judges besides the Chief Justice.Justice Arup Kumar Goswami, who replaces Chief Justice Maheshwari, was appointed CJ of the Sikkim High Court on October 15, 2019.

He had earlier served as Acting Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court. Born in 1961 at Jorhat in Assam, Chief Justice Goswami graduated from the government law college in Guwahati in 1985 and practised mainly in civil, criminal, constitutional and service matters. He was appointed as permanent judge in the Gauhati High Court in 2012.

Justice Hima Kohli, who will be the Telangana Chief Justice, graduated from the University of Delhi in 1984 and took oath as permanent judge in the Delhi High Court in 2007.Meanwhile, Justice S Muralidhar is expected to be promoted as the Chief Justice of the Odisha High Court.

He will take charge from present Chief Justice Mohammad Rafiq. Justice Muralidhar is currently serving as a judge in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana since his transfer on March 6, 2020. He first became a judge in the Delhi High Court in 2006.

Sikkim HC Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami may be new CJ of Andhra Pradesh HC

The five-member collegium of the Supreme Court reportedly cleared the proposal to swap Sikkim High Court Chief Justice Arup Kumar Goswami and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari.