Centre Appoints Vibhu Bakhru As Acting Chief Justice Of Delhi High Court

The Centre on Tuesday issued a notification appointing Justice Vibhu Bakhru as Acting Chief Justice of Delhi High Court, shortly after the elevation of incumbent Chief Justice Manmohan to the Supreme Court was cleared.

"In exercise of the power conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India, the President is pleased to appoint Shri Justice Vibhu Bakhru, Judge of the Delhi High Court, to perform the duties of office of the Chief Justice of that High Court with effect from the date Shri Justice Manmohan, Chief Justice, Delhi High Court relinquishes charge of his office consequent upon his elevation as a Judge of the Supreme Court of India," said a notification issued by the Union Ministry of Law and Justice.

Article 223 of the Constitution empowers the President to appoint any puisne judge as acting Chief Justice when "the office of Chief Justice of a High Court is vacant or when any such Chief Justice is, by reason of absence or otherwise, unable to perform the duties of his office".

Born in Nagpur in 1966, Justice Bakhru studied in Delhi, enrolled as a student with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and commenced his articles with Thakur Vadiyanathaiyan & Company in 1985. A B.Com (Hon) graduate of Delhi University, he cleared his final examination for Chartered Accountancy in 1989. He received his LLB degree in 1990 and enrolled as an Advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi the same year. Practising in the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, the Company Law Board and various other Tribunals, he was appointed as Additional Judge of the High Court on April 17, 2013 and as Permanent Judge on March 18, 2015.

Earlier in the day, the Centre announced the appointment of Justice Manmohan to the top court.

In a post on X, Union Minister for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said that the President, after consultation with the Chief Justice of India (CJI), was pleased to appoint Justice Manmohan, Chief Justice of the Delhi High Court as an SC judge.

Last week, the Supreme Court Collegium recommended the name of Delhi High Court's Chief Justice Manmohan for elevation as a judge of the top court. "While recommending his name, the Collegium has taken into consideration the fact that, at present, the Bench of Supreme Court is represented by only one Judge from the High Court of Delhi," said a statement released by SC Collegium.

Justice Manmohan was appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court in March 2008 and has been functioning as the Chief Justice of that High Court since September 29. He stands at serial number 2 in the combined all-India seniority of High Court Judges and is the senior-most Judge in the Delhi High Court.

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