The Central Government, adhering to the collegium’s
recommendation, appointed Delhi High Court judge Siddharth Mridul as the new
full-time Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court.
The collegium recommended to appoint justice Mridul as
the Manipur High Court Chief Justice on July 5.
Union Law Minister of State Arjun Ram Meghwal announced
on platform X, “In exercise of the power conferred by the Constitution of
India, President of India, after consultation with Chief Justice of India, is
pleased to appoint Sh Justice Siddharth Mridul, Judge of the Delhi High Court,
as Chief Justice of Manipur High Court. I convey best wishes to him.”
The notification to appoint the new chief justice came
a week after the government assured the Supreme Court that the collegium’s
recommendation will be acted upon soon.
The Bench, led by justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, had cautioned
the government against any delay, setting a deadline of October 20.
A day after the government’s assurance, the collegium
recommended the transfer of MV Muralidaran, acting Chief Justice of Manipur High
Court, to the Calcutta High Court.
The collegium’s recommendation, issued on October 10,
also recorded its rejection of justice Muralidaran’s request to either let him
continue in the Manipur High Court or shift him to his parent high court at
Madras.
The Supreme Court collegium comprised Chief Justice of
India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and justices Kaul, Sanjiv Khanna, BR Gavai and
Surya Kant.
The office of the chief justice of the Manipur High Court
had fallen vacant in February 2023, following the elevation of justice PV
Sanjay Kumar to the Supreme Court. Justice Muralidaran has since been
functioning as the acting chief justice of the high court.
A judicial order issued by a single-judge Bench of
justice Muralidaran on March 23 had become the trigger point for the ethnic
clashes between the Meiteis and the Kukis in the Northeastern State.
Justice Muralidaran passed the controversial order for
the Manipur Government to consider including the Meitei community in the
Scheduled Tribe (ST) list.
Agencies
