The Punjab Cabinet on Sunday passed a resolution opposing the Central government’s decision to notify the appointment of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, alleging that the State government’s views were not considered before the appointment was finalised.
The Supreme Court Collegium had recommended Justice Mishra’s elevation as Chief Justice on August 6. The Central government cleared the recommendation on Saturday night and notified his appointment. Justice Mishra is scheduled to be administered the oath of office at Punjab Lok Bhavan in Chandigarh on Monday.
Hours before the ceremony, the Punjab Cabinet convened an emergency meeting via video conference and passed a resolution urging the Governor not to administer the oath to Justice Mishra until the State government’s views were obtained and duly considered.
“Taking serious exception to the appointment of Justice Ashwani Kumar Mishra as Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court without awaiting the views of the Punjab Government, the Cabinet resolved that the appointment and administration of oath should be put on hold until Punjab’s views are obtained and duly considered,” the State government said.
The Punjab government said that under the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) governing the appointment and transfer of High Court Chief Justices and judges, the Union Law Minister is required to obtain the views of the concerned State government after receiving the recommendation from the Chief Justice of India.
According to the State government, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal sought Punjab’s views on August 12. However, the Centre notified Justice Mishra’s appointment without awaiting the State government’s response.
The government also pointed out that the MoP does not prescribe a specific time limit for the State government or the Governor to communicate their views in the case of an appointment of a High Court Chief Justice.
Drawing a comparison with the case of Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia, the Punjab government said that his proposed appointment as Chief Justice of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2024 was not notified for more than two months, allegedly because the views of the Madhya Pradesh government had not been received.
Justice Sandhawalia was subsequently appointed Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court.
The Punjab government said the differing treatment demonstrated discrimination against Punjab and reiterated that Justice Mishra’s appointment and oath-taking should be put on hold until the State’s views were obtained and considered.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann also criticised the Centre, saying that the appointment without obtaining the State government’s consent amounted to a violation of the prescribed procedure and constitutional norms.
Meanwhile, the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association condemned the Punjab government’s opposition to Justice Mishra’s appointment.
The Bar Association said that the convening of an emergency Cabinet meeting to deliberate upon the appointment of the Chief Justice raised serious concerns about executive overreach into a matter governed by the constitutional mechanism for judicial appointments.
It cautioned that any action creating an impression of political or executive pressure on the judiciary could erode public confidence in the administration of justice.
Justice Mishra was appointed Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on June 1, following the elevation of then Chief Justice Sheel Nagu to the Supreme Court.
In August, a Bench led by Justice Mishra directed the Punjab government to release pending installments of dearness allowance and dearness relief to its employees and pensioners.
The Bench had observed that the State was spending substantial amounts on freebies and advertisements while withholding legitimate dues of employees on the ground of financial constraints. It subsequently directed the State not to incur what it termed unproductive expenditure, including large-scale advertising campaigns in print and social media, until the pending dues were cleared.
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