The Central Government has notified the appointment of Justice Ravi Shankar Jha as the Acting Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court. This is consequent to the retirement of the incumbent Chief Justice S K Seth.
Justice Ravi Shankar Jha is the senior most judge in the Court. As per the notification he seems to take charge of duties from June 10. Although the SC Collegium had recommended on May 10 the appointment of Justice A Kureshi as the Chief Justice of Madhya Pradesh High Court, the Centre is yet to act upon it.
The other recommendation made by the SC Collegium on that day – the proposal to appoint Justice D N Patel as CJ of Delhi High Court- was accepted by the Centre within two weeks. Justice Patel took oath as the CJ of Delhi HC today.
Justice Kureshi, a senior judge of Gujarat High Court, was transferred to Bombay High Court last October, amidst protests from the bar. The Gujarat High Court Advocates Association had moved a resolution protesting Justice Kureshi’s transfer as motivated by ‘extraneous considerations’.
Many members of the bar speculated that the transfer of Justice Kureshi had anything to do with the adverse order passed by him against the ruling dispensation.
