New Delhi: The Supreme Court Collegium on Wednesday (January 25) recalled its decision to appoint Justice Jaswant Singh as the chief justice of the Orissa high court. Instead, the Collegium recommended that he instead be made chief justice of the Tripura high court.
“The Supreme Court Collegium in its meeting held on January 25, 2023, on reconsideration and in supersession of its earlier recommendation dated September 28, 2022, has recommended elevation of Shri Justice Jaswant Singh, Judge, Orissa High Court [PHC: P&H] as Chief Justice of the Tripura High Court,” the Collegium’s statement said, according to Bar and Bench.
At the moment, the Tripura high court has only one judge, who is serving as the acting chief justice.
As part of its September 28 recommendations, the Collegium had also said the current chief justice in Orissa, Justice S. Muralidhar, should be transferred to the Madras high court. With Justice Singh no longer taking over in Orissa, it is possible that Justice Muralidhar will continue in his post there.
The Union government had kept the proposal on Justice Muralidhar’s transfer on hold.
Justice Singh became an advocate in 1986 and was elevated to the bench as a judge in the Punjab and Haryana high court in 2007. He was transferred to the Orissa high court in 2021.