SC recommends chief justices for Andhra, T’gana high courts

Justice Aradhe, currently a senior judge in Karnataka high court, will succeed justice Ujjal Bhuyan, the current chief justice of Telangana high court

Justices Alok Aradhe and Dhiraj Singh Thakur will be the new chief justices of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh state high courts, respectively, according to the recommendations made by a Supreme Collegium on Wednesday night, people familiar with the matter said.

Justices Alok Aradhe and Dhiraj Singh Thakur will be the new chief justices of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh state high courts (Agencies)

The Presidential assent for their appointment is expected shortly, they added.

Justice Aradhe, currently a senior judge in the Karnataka high court, will succeed justice Ujjal Bhuyan, the current chief justice of Telangana high court, who was elevated as a judge of the Supreme Court earlier in the day.

Similarly, justice Thakur, who is presently a judge in the Bombay high court, will take over as the chief justice of the Andhra Pradesh high court in the existing vacancy, which has arisen following the elevation of justice Prashant Kumar Mishra to the Supreme Court as a judge on May 19.

A notification issued by the Supreme Court collegium comprising Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Sanjiv Khanna said justice Aradhe was appointed as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh high court on December 29, 2009. He was transferred to Karnataka high court as a judge in November 2018 and has acquired experience of more than 13 years in dispensing justice in two large high courts, the collegium said.

On the other hand, justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur was first appointed as a judge of the Jammu and Kashmir high court on March 8, 2013, and is now the senior-most judge in his parent high court. He was transferred to the Bombay high court in June 2022 and has been functioning there since then.

On February 9 this year, the collegium recommended the elevation of justice Thakur as the chief justice of the Manipur high court, but it has been pending with the government. “On the appointment of Justice Thakur as the chief justice, the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh high court would get representation amongst the chief justices of the high courts,” the notification said.

Once justice Thakur is appointed as the chief justice of Andhra Pradesh high court, it would supersede the earlier recommendation of the collegium for his appointment as chief justice of Manipur high court, the notification added.