Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia appointed as new Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court

Why in the news?

Recently Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia was appointed as the new Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court.
Presently he is serving in Punjab-Haryana High Court.
Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia has taken charge as the Acting Chief Justice of Punjab-Haryana High Court on 4 February 2024.

Himachal Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia

Born: 1 November, 1965
Education: BA (Hons.) from DAV College, Chandigarh in 1986, LLB from Punjab University in 1989.
He was a lawn tennis player during his college days.
He was enrolled as an advocate in the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh in 1989 itself.
His father was the Chief Justice of Punjab-Haryana High Court from 1978 to 1983.
His father was also the Chief Justice of Patna High Court from 1983 to 1987.
He was promoted to the bench as an additional judge on 30 September 2011.
He was appointed as a permanent judge on 24 January 2014 and was appointed as the acting Chief Justice of Punjab-Haryana High Court on 04 February 2024.

The Chief Justice of the High Court is appointed by the President after consultation with the CJI and the Governor of the concerned state.
Other judges of the High Court are appointed by the President after consultation with the Governor, the Chief Justice of the concerned High Court and the CJI and two other senior-most judges of the Supreme Court.
Transfer of High Court judges is done by the President after consulting the CJI.
- In case of transfer, the CJI has to consult 4 other senior-most judges of the Supreme Court and the Chief Justices of the concerned High Courts.

To be eligible for appointment as a Judge in High Court –
- The person should be a citizen of India and
- Should have held a judicial office in India for ten years or
- Should have worked as an advocate in a High Court or two or more such courts continuously for the same period.
Judges in the High Court remain in office till the age of 62 years.