Supreme Court Collegium recommends Justice Rajiv Shakdher as the new Chief Justice for the High Court of Himachal Pradesh
By Yashvardhan Singh
In a major development on Thursday, the Collegium, led by the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, recommended that Justice Rajiv Shakdher, who is currently a judge of the Delhi High Court and is at Serial No. 4, in the All India Seniority List of High Court Judges be appointed as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla. The recommendation was made by the Collegium as per its Resolution dated- 11th July 2024 in a meeting involving the three senior most judges of the Supreme Court of India, including Dr. Justice DY Chandrachud, Justice Sanjiv Khanna, and Justice Bhushan R. Gavai. The recommendation for the appointment of Justice Rajiv Shakdher arises as the Collegium in the same resolution also recommended that Justice MS Ramachandra Rao, who is at present the sitting Chief Justice of the Himachal Pradesh High Court be transferred to the High Court of Jharkhand as its new Chief Justice, consequent to the retirement of Dr. Justice BR Sarangi as Chief Justice of High Court of Jharkhand on 19th July 2024. The above recommendations, if accepted by the Union Government, would imply that the Himachal Pradesh High Court may have Justice Rajiv Shakdher as their new Chief Justice from any time after the 19th of July 2024. Justice Shakdher has been serving as a judge for more than 16 years. He is one of the senior most judges in the country and was appointed as Judge of the High Court on 11th April 2008. Justice Shakdher studied in Delhi’s St. Columba’s School and thereafter completed his B.Com. (Hons.) from Delhi University in the year 1984. Pursuant to his graduation, Justice Shakdher did his Bachelor in Law (LL.B.), from the Faculty of Law at the University of Delhi in 1987 and enrolled as an Advocate on 19th November 1987. Justice Shakdher also completed Chartered Accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 1987. Justice Shakdher as a Chevening Scholar studied at the University of London in 1994. Before being elevated as a judge of the Delhi High Court in April 2008, Justice Shakdher practiced before the Supreme Court of India, the High Court of Delhi, and other High Courts of India. Justice Shakdher was designated as a Senior Advocate on 8th December 2005. While Justice Shakdher’s parent High Court is the High Court of Delhi, he also served in the High Court of Madras as a puisne judge between 11th April 2016 to January 2018.
Justice Rajiv Shakdher has been part of seminal decisions. In the matter of RIT Foundation vs. Union of India (Writ Petition (Civil) No. 284 of 2015), Justice Shakdher had observed that Exception No.2 to Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code (which exempts forceful sexual intercourse by a man with his own wife from the offense of rape) as unconstitutional. Justice Shakdher as Chairman of the Delhi High Court Legal Services Committee has also stressed the importance of pro-bono lawyering and for advocates to
sincerely work for the weaker sections of society. Justice Shakdher has also expressed views on the intersections of law and literature. In a recent address at the 2024 Vidhi Utsav organized by Oak Bridge Publishing, Justice Shakdher remarked that “Much
of the art of advocacy is literature. Judges and lawyers have taken recourse to literature to explain legal complexities… Law has to be seasoned with justice and mercy. If they do not meet there will not be a satisfactory answer.”
If appointed, Justice Shakdher may continue to be the Chief Justice of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh till his retirement on 18th October 2024.
( The writer is an Advocate practicing at the Supreme Court of India )
