Centre approves appointment and transfer of 9 Chief Justices and 19 High Court Judges in major judicial reshuffle.

On 14th July 2025, the Union Ministry of Law and Justice, headed by Arjun Ram Meghwal, approved a major reshuffle in the Indian judiciary with the appointment of five new Chief Justices (CJs) and the transfer of four existing Chief Justices across various High Courts (HCs). Additionally, the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC) recommended the transfer of 19 judges across multiple HCs to streamline judicial administration.

      - These appointments and transfers were officially approved by the President of India based on constitutional provisions, following consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the Supreme Court Collegium (SCC). The current Chief Justice of India, B.R. Gavai, played a key role in finalizing these recommendations to ensure effective judiciary functioning.

      - The four Chief Justices who were transferred include Justice K.R. Shriram from Madras High Court (Tamil Nadu) to Rajasthan High Court, Justice Manindra Mohan Shrivastava from Rajasthan High Court to Madras High Court, Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao from Jharkhand High Court to Tripura High Court, and Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh from Tripura High Court to Telangana High Court.

      - The five newly appointed Chief Justices are Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva, who served at Madhya Pradesh High Court and is now appointed Chief Justice of the same court, Justice Vibhu Bakhru from Delhi High Court appointed as Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court, Justice Ashutosh Kumar from Patna High Court now appointed as Chief Justice of Gauhati High Court (Assam), Justice Vipul Manubhai Panchal from Patna High Court appointed as Chief Justice of Meghalaya High Court, and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan from Himachal Pradesh High Court appointed as Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court.

Main Point :-   (i) The Ministry of Law and Justice also approved the transfer of 19 High Court judges based on the SCC recommendations issued on 26 June 2025. Among these, Justices Anil Kumar Ojha, Om Prakash Shukla, K. Kameswar Rao, Nitin Wadhwa, Sambit Rana, Kumar Manoj, and Vivek Choudhary have been transferred to the Delhi High Court for improved case distribution and judicial efficiency.

      (ii) Several other judges were shifted to enhance the bench strength of key HCs. Justices Gunjan Shyam and Shri Chandrashekhar have been transferred to Bombay High Court, while Justice Jayant Banerji has been moved to Karnataka High Court. Additionally, Justice Sujoy Paul and Justice LaxmiKant Jha have been transferred to Calcutta High Court to support the increased workload there.

(iii) Other significant transfers include Justice Anshul Verma from Punjab & Haryana High Court, Justice Sanjeev Prakash Sharma to Rajasthan High Court, Justice Vivek Kumar Singh to Patna High Court, Justice Battu Devanand to Andhra Pradesh High Court, Justice Amol Rattan Singh to Bombay High Court, and Justice Manash Ranjan Pathak to Orissa High Court, thereby completing one of the most extensive judicial realignments in recent times.