The Supreme Court Collegium has proposed the name of Justice Ritu Bahri of the Punjab and Haryana High Court judge for elevation as Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court
A resolution published on the website of the Supreme Court on Thursday said that Justice Bahri, who was currently the acting Chief Justice at the Punjab and Haryana High Court, was a ‘competent judge’ endowed with a high level of integrity, conduct and character.
It said that while recommending Justice Bahri’s elevation, the Collegium, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice Sanjiv Khanna, noted that Justice Bahri had acquired extensive experience in dispensing justice in one of the largest High Courts in the country.
Her elevation would enhance representation of women among the Chief Justices of the High Courts, it added.
If the Central government gives approval to the proposal, Justice Bahri would become the second woman Chief Justice of a High Court in the country.
She is currently serving as the Acting Chief Justice at Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Justice Sunita Agarwal, posted at Gujarat High Court, is the only woman Chief Justice at present.
The Collegium further noted that Justice Bahri was a competent judge endowed with high level of integrity, conduct and character
Justice Bahri was appointed as a judge of Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2010. She is the senior-most puisne Judge of the High Court. Upon retirement of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha on October 13, she was appointed as the acting Chief Justice there.
The resolution said Justice Bahri had authored 843 reported judgments since her appointment, including 247 delivered during the past five years.
Justice Bahri had finished her law degree from Panjab University in 1985. She enrolled as an Advocate in 1986 and practiced in the Punjab and Haryana High Court till her elevation as a judge.
As per the resolution, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has jurisdiction over two large States but at present there was only one Chief Justice to represent it from among the Chief Justices of the High Courts.
Justice Bahri was fit and suitable in all respects for being appointed as the Chief Justice of the Uttarakhand High Court, it added.
The position of Chief Justice at the Uttarakhand High Court fell vacant recently following the retirement of Justice Vipin Sanghi. Justice Manoj Kumar Tiwari is currently serving as the acting Chief Justice there.