Justice Sandhawalia Takes Oath as Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court
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Shimla, December 29 (NationPress) Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia was officially sworn in as the Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court during a modest yet significant ceremony at Raj Bhavan on Sunday.
The Governor, Shiv Pratap Shukla, administered the oath of office. Present at the event were Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and his Cabinet members.
Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena oversaw the formal proceedings and read the warrant of appointment issued by President Droupadi Murmu.
Notable attendees included Speaker Vidhan Sabha Kuldeep Singh Pathania, Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan, Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi, judges from both the Himachal Pradesh High Court and the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chairman of HP Tourism Development Corporation R. S. Bali, Advocate General Anup Rattan, and other distinguished guests.
The Central government announced on December 24 that Justice Sandhawalia, the most senior judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, would serve as the next Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
This announcement followed a delay of over three months after the Supreme Court collegium had recommended his appointment. He was expected to take over on October 18, coinciding with the retirement of Justice Rajiv Shakdher, but the notification was postponed.
Born on November 1, 1965, Justice Sandhawalia earned a BA (Honours) from DAV College, Chandigarh, in 1986 and secured a law degree from the Department of Laws of Panjab University in Chandigarh. He became an advocate in August 1989 and practiced at the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
His father, Justice Surjit Singh Sandhawalia, served as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court from 1978 to 1983 and of the Patna High Court from 1983 to 1987.
