Centre appoints Chief Justice for Manipur HC after three months delay

Digital Desk: The Central Government on Monday officially notified Justice Siddharth Mridul's appointment as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court. Mridul is a renowned judge from the Delhi High Court. The decision comes after a prolonged three-month wait following the collegium of the Supreme Court's proposal on July 6.

Since February 4, Manipur, which has been plagued by severe interethnic violence has faced an administrative void with no regular Chief Justice. This vacancy occurred after PV Sanjay Kumar, former Chief Justice, was appointed to the Supreme Court. Justice MV Muralidaran, the senior-most judge on the Manipur High Court, has been obediently acting as Chief Justice in the absence of a permanent appointment.

The Supreme Court became concerned about the appointment of Justice Mridul's delay during a hearing on September 27. The court, chaired by Justice SK Kaul, underlined its concern about the Central Government's tardy response to collegium recommendations. Notably, the Court stressed the urgency of a speedy resolution while acknowledging the sensitivity of the Manipur issue.

R Venkataramani, India's Attorney General, promised the court last week that the nomination of Justice Mridul as Chief Justice of the Manipur High Court will be issued as soon as possible.

In a related event, the Calcutta High Court has just received a transfer recommendation for Justice MV Muralidaran, who has been in charge of managing the duties of the Acting Chief Justice in Manipur.