High Court to wear a new look soon

Chandigarh, September 8
The Punjab and Haryana High Court will soon wear a new look with one Judge moving out and another becoming Acting Chief Justice. Six advocates are expected to be administered oath as Judges, while three more are to be elevated soon.
Acting Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel is moving to the Guwahati High Court as first pusine, where he is eventually expected to take over as Chief Justice.
Justice Goel was given a warm sendoff today by the Punjab and Haryana High Court Bar Association.
As of now, Justice Madan Bhimarao Lokur is the Chief Justice of the Guwahati High Court. He may eventually be shifted to Hyderabad as Chief Justice, paving the way for Justice Goel to take over as Chief Justice. Justice Goel was elevated as a Judge of the Punjab and Haryana High Court with effect from July 2, 2001.
He was appointed Executive Chairman of the Haryana State Legal Services Authority on May 17, 2005. As Justice Goel shifts out of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, Justice MM Kumar takes over as Acting Chief Justice. Currently, Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi is on long medical leave.
In another development, Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar is all set to be elevated to the Supreme Court. A Punjab and Haryana High Court Judge, he is the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court.
With Justice Goel’s departure from Chandigarh, the number of Judges will come down to 42 against the sanctioned strength of 68. Already, the High Court is facing the aftermath of shortage in the number of Judges. As of now, more than two lakh cases are pending in the High Court. The situation is expected to improve in the near future as the names of six advocates have been cleared for elevation as Judges.
Available information suggests the files are on their was out of the Prime Minister’s office. The lawyers to be elevated are RN Raina, NK Sanghi, Rameshwar Malik, TS Dhindsa, PS Dhaliwal and Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia. Sessions Judge VS Malik’s name, too, was considered by the collegium. He was administered oath two months back.