List of chief justices of the Himachal Pradesh High Court
| Himachal Pradesh High Court | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1971 |
| Jurisdiction | Himachal Pradesh |
| Location | Shimla, Himachal Pradesh |
| Composition method | Presidential appointment with confirmation of Chief Justice of India and Governor of respective state. |
| Authorised by | Constitution of India |
| Appeals to | Supreme Court of India |
| Judge term length | Mandatory Retirement by age of 62 |
| Number of positions | 13 |
| Website | hphighcourt.nic.in |
| Chief Justice | |
| Currently | Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia |
| Since | 29 December 2024 |
The Himachal Pradesh High Court is the High Court of the state of Himachal Pradesh.
Chief Justice
[edit]On 14 October 2021, Justice Mohammad Rafiq took oath as the chief justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court.[1]
List of Chief Justices
[edit]Himachal Pradesh High Court was established on 25 January 1971 under State of Himachal Pradesh Act, 1970 and had 29 Chief Justices till date excluding Acting Chief Justices and Current Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia who is serving from 29 December 2024.
| Sr. No. | Name | Date of Appointment | Date of Retirement | Tenure | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mirza Hameedullah Beg | 25 January 1971 | 9 December 1971 | 319 days | Later served as 15th Chief Justice of India |
| 2 | Raghunandan Swarup Pathak | 18 March 1972 | 19 February 1978 | 5 years, 339 days | Later served as 18th Chief Justice of India Then later elected to International Court of Justice |
| 3 | Tryambkalal Umedchand Mehta | 25 July 1978 | 11 December 1979 | 1 year, 140 days | |
| 4 | Vyas Dev Misra | 12 December 1979 | 30 September 1983 | 3 years, 293 days | |
| 5 | Prabodh Dinkarrao Desai | 23 December 1983 | 13 November 1988 | 4 years, 327 days | Transferred to Calcutta as CJ Later transferred to Bombay as CJ |
| 6 | Narendra Mohan Kasliwal | 29 March 1989 | 5 October 1989 | 191 days | Elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 7 | Perumbulavil Chakkala Valappil Balakrishna Menon | 6 November 1989 | 14 January 1991 | 1 year, 70 days | |
| 8 | Leila Seth | 5 August 1991 | 19 October 1992 | 1 year, 76 days | First Female CJ of Himachal Pradesh |
| 9 | Shashi Kant Seth | 22 June 1993 | 27 August 1993 | 67 days | |
| 10 | Viswanathan Ratnam | 29 January 1994 | 31 July 1994 | 184 days | |
| 11 | Gulab Chand Gupta | 17 September 1994 | 28 February 1995 | 165 days | |
| 12 | Sailendu Nath Phukan | 1 March 1995 | 1 August 1996 | 1 year, 154 days | Transferred to Odisha as CJ Later elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 13 | Madhavachari Srinivasan | 12 August 1996 | 24 September 1997 | 1 year, 44 days | Elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 14 | Makani Narayana Rao | 6 November 1997 | 21 April 1998 | 167 days | |
| 15 | Doraiswamy Raju | 1 July 1998 | 27 January 2000 | 1 year, 211 days | Elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 16 | Chunilal Karsandas Thakker | 5 May 2000 | 30 December 2001 | 1 year, 240 days | Transferred to Bombay as CJ Later elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 17 | Wungazan Awungshi Shishak | 24 January 2002 | 31 December 2002 | 342 days | |
| 18 | Vinod Kumar Gupta | 8 March 2003 | 1 February 2008 | 4 years, 331 days | Transferred to Uttarakhand as CJ |
| 19 | Jagadish Bhalla | 2 February 2008 | 9 August 2009 | 1 year, 189 days | Transferred to Rajasthan as CJ |
| 20 | Kurian Joseph | 8 February 2010 | 6 March 2013 | 3 years, 27 days | Elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 21 | Ajay Manikrao Khanwilkar | 4 April 2013 | 23 November 2013 | 234 days | Transferred to Madhya Pradesh as CJ Later elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 22 | Mansoor Ahmad Mir | 18 June 2014 | 24 April 2017 | 2 years, 311 days | |
| 23 | Surya Kant[2] | 5 October 2018 | 23 May 2019 | 231 days | Elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 24 | V. Ramasubramanian | 22 June 2019 | 22 September 2019 | 93 days | Elevated to Supreme Court of India |
| 25 | Lingappa Narayana Swamy | 6 October 2019 | 29 June 2021 | 1 year, 267 days | |
| 26 | Mohammad Rafiq | 14 October 2021 | 20 May 2022 | 130 days | |
| 27 | Amjad Ahtesham Sayed | 23 June 2022 | 20 January 2023 | 212 days | |
| 28 | Mamidanna Satyratna Ramachandra Rao | 30 May 2023 | 24 September 2024 | 1 year, 118 days | Transferred to Jharkhand as CJ |
| 29 | Rajiv Shakdher | 25 September 2024 | 18 October 2024 | 24 days |