Justice Nagu takes oath as chief justice
CHANDIGARH: Justice Sheel Nagu was sworn in as the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court by Punjab governor Banwarilal Purohit in Chandigarh on Tuesday.
Justice Nagu was earlier serving as the acting chief justice of the Madhya Pradesh high court.
The oath-taking ceremony at Raj Bhawan was attended by Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann and Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini.
Justice Nagu was appointed the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana HC on July 4. The Supreme Court collegium had recommended his name for the appointment on December 27, 2023. His elevation was recommended following the retirement of Justice Ravi Shanker Jha as the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court.
Born on January 1, 1965, he enrolled as an advocate in October 1987 and practised at the Madhya Pradesh HC in constitutional, service, labour and criminal cases. He was appointed as high court judge on May 27, 2011. During his 12-year tenure as a judge of the Madhya Pradesh HC, he authored more than 499 reported judgments. Justice GS Sandhawalia is acting chief justice at Punjab and Haryana HC. He was appointed on February 4, 2024.
The post of chief justice was vacant since retirement chief justice RS Jha on October 13 last year. Between October and February, Justice Ritu Bahri remained as acting chief justice and was later appointed as chief justice of Uttarakhand HC in February. With this appointment, the number of judges would rise to 55 against the sanctioned strength of 85 judges.