Justice Rajnesh Oswal was sworn in as a permanent judge of the common High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on Thursday.
He was administered oath of office by J&K High CourtChief Justice, Gita Mittal at a simple but impressive ceremony here.
He is the first judge of the High Court to take oath underthe Indian Constitution. All previous judges of the High Court had taken oathunder the constitution of Jammu and Kashmir, which ceased to have effect sinceAugust 5, 2019, an official handout said.
On account of guidelines with regard to measures forcontainment of COVID19 pandemic and to avoid gathering as well as to maintainsocial distancing, other judges of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir joinedthe oath ceremony through video link. The oath ceremony was live streamed oninternet through webcast also.
It is for the first time in the history of Indian Judiciary,that the oath ceremony was attended by other judges of the High Court throughvideo conference wherein judges joined while sitting from their respectiveresidences.
Advocate General, Assistant Solicitor General of India ofboth the wings of the High Court, President Bar Association, High Court ofJ&K, Jammu, Secretary Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs UT of J&Kalso joined the oath ceremony through video link.
Warrant of appointment of Justice Rajnesh Oswal was read bySanjay Dhar, Registrar General High Court of Jammu and Kashmir in English andHindi.
With the appointment of Justice Rajnesh Oswal as judge ofthe High Court, the strength of J&K High Court increased from eight tonine. The J&K High Court has sanctioned strength of 17 Judges including 13Permanent Judges and 4 Additional Judges.
It is pertinent to mention that Justice Rajnesh Oswal wasappointed as judge of Common High Court for the Union Territories of J&Kand Ladakh on 29 January 2020 and the authorization for administering oath byChief Justice to Justice Rajnesh Oswal was received on 1st April 2020.
Prior to his appointment, Justice Rajnesh Oswal waspracticing law since 1998 and had also served as Standing Counsel for CrimeBranch Jammu and Panel lawyer for J&K High Court.
Justice Oswal has done his graduation from GGM ScienceCollege and LLB from Jammu University and has also received Gold Medal in LLBacademics.