Jammu, Apr 7: Justice M M Kumar of the Punjab and Haryana High Court is likely to be the new Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court, which is facing shortage of eight judges presently.
Reports suggested that the name of Justice Kumar for elevation to the coveted post has been cleared by the Supreme Court collegium.
The post of Jammu and Kashmir High Court Chief Justice had fallen vacant after the elevation of Justice FM Ibrahim Kalifulla to the Supreme Court. He was, in fact, administered oath as the apex court judge Monday last.
Currently, Justice Virender Singh is acting as the Chief Justice of the Jammu and Kashmir High Court. He was administered oath as the Acting Chief Justice on April 2.
With the appointment of the Chief Justice, the number of judges in the Jammu and Kashmir High Court will increase to 7, against the sanctioned strength of 14 judges.
Born on January 5, 1953, Justice Kumar did his L.L.B in 1977 and was enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh in the same year. He practiced for a brief period at the District Courts, Sangrur and then left for England for his Master's degree.
He authored a book titled 'Control of Exclusion Clauses in England and India' published in London in 1985. Having served as Vice President, Punjab and Haryana Bar Association, Chandigarh, Additional Advocate General Punjab, President of International Law Association Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Chapter, President of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Chapter of Indian Law Institute, Justice Kumar was elevated to the Bench on July 2, 2001.
Jammu and Kashmir High Court is presently reeling under the shortage of judges. The state was awaiting final nod of its proposal to appoint 7 additional judges from both Bench and the Bar quota, for which the names have already been cleared by a collegium.
As per the reports the collegim has recommended the names of five advocates and two judges to fill up the existing vacancies. The recommendations are to be followed by the clearance from various agencies including the state government. “The state government has received the recommendations for the appointment of seven judges and same are under consideration”, official sources said.
They added that those recommended by the HC included Special Judge CBI Court, BL Bhat and Registrar General, Janak Raj Kotwal from the Bench Quota. Additional Advocate General, Ali Mohammad Magray, Designated Senior Lawyer, Dheeraj Singh Thakur, Advocate Azharul Amin, Advocate Tashi Robertson of Leh were reportedly recommended from the Bar quota.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Apr 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 7 Apr 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 8 Apr 2012 00:00:00 IST