Punjab and Haryana High Court explained

Court Name:Punjab and Haryana High Court
Location:Chandigarh
Type:Presidential with confirmation of Supreme Court Collegium including Chief Justice of India on recommendation of High Court Collegium.
Appealsto:Supreme Court of India
Terms:Mandatory retirement at 62 years of age
Chiefjudgetitle:Chief Justice
Chiefjudgename:Justice Sheel Nagu
Termstart:9 July 2024
Positions:85 (64 Permanent, 21 Additional)
Authority:Constitution of India
Jurisdiction:Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh

Punjab and Haryana High Court is the common High Court for the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh based in Chandigarh, India. Sanctioned strength of Judges of this High Court is 85 consisting of 64 Permanent Judges and 21 Additional Judges including Chief Justice. As of 14 September 2023, there are 58 Judges working in the High Court, comprising 36 Permanent and 22 Additional Judges.[1]

The court building is known as the Palace of Justice. Designed by Le Corbusier, it and several of his other works were inscribed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites in July 2016.[2] [3]

Sarv Mittra Sikri, who had been practising in the High Court of Punjab and Haryana and remained Advocate-General for Punjab from 1 November 1956 to 2 February 1964, was the first to be appointed as judge of the Supreme Court of India on 3 February 1964 directly from the Bar; later, becoming the Chief Justice of India on 22 January 1971, again with the distinction of being first of only two CJIs directly from the Bar.

Past judges include Madan Mohan Punchhi, P. Sathasivam, Tirath Singh Thakur, Jagdish Singh Khehar and Ranjan Gogoi who were elevated to the Supreme Court of India and became Chief Justice of India.[4] [5] [6]

History

Formation

Punjab and Haryana High Court was formerly known as Lahore High Court, which was established on 21 March 1919. The jurisdiction of that court covered undivided Punjab and Delhi. From 1920 to 1943, the Court was conferred with extraterritorial jurisdiction over that part of China that formed part of the British consular district of Kashgar, which had previously been under the jurisdiction of the British Supreme Court for China.[7] This ceased upon the ratification of the British-Chinese Treaty for the Relinquishment of Extra-Territorial Rights in China.[8]

Independence-induced split

Following the independence of India and its Partition on 15 August 1947, a separate High Court of East Punjab was created by the Governor General's High Courts (Punjab) Order, 1947 issued under Section 9 of the Indian Independence Act, 1947, based at historic Peterhoff building in Shimla for the territories as included in the then Province of East Punjab and the then Province of Delhi. This had jurisdiction over the erstwhile territories of Patiala and East Punjab States Union and the East Punjab Province, which now covers areas of Indian Punjab, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. It was at Peterhoff where the trial of Nathuram Godse, who assassinated Mahatma Gandhi, took place in 1948–49.[9]

On introduction of the Constitution of India on 26 January 1950, the State of East Punjab came to be known as the Punjab and accordingly, the name of the High Court was also changed as High Court of Punjab. Simultaneously, Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU), which was created by uniting eight princely states on 15 July 1948, was also made a Part 'B' State with a separate High Court of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). As per Article 214(2) of the Constitution of India, the High Court was to be continued along with other High Courts.

From 17 January 1955, the Court was moved to its present location in Chandigarh.[10]

By States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) was merged in the State of Punjab on 1 November 1956. The Judges of the High Court of Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU) became Judges of the Punjab High Court. The strength of High Court of Punjab, which had originally 8 Judges, rose to 13.

Renaming and reduction of jurisdiction

The Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 paved the way for the formation of Haryana and the Union Territory of Chandigarh from 1 November 1966. Those formations also saw the renaming of the High Court of Punjab as the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. The Judges of the High Court of Punjab became Judges of the common High Court with all the powers and jurisdiction of the High Court of Punjab. However, the principal seat of the High Court remained at Chandigarh.[10] Punjab and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh has original as well as appellate and supervisory jurisdiction over all matters pertaining to Chandigarh (a Union Territory and also capital of Punjab and Haryana), Punjab and Haryana.[11] The High Court of Punjab and Haryana has operated since 1 November 1966 in its present form.[10]

A Circuit Bench of the High Court of Punjab had been working at Delhi since 1952, which was replaced by constituting a separate High Court for the Union Territory of Delhi on 31 October 1966 under the Delhi High Court Act, 1966.[12] Three Judges of the Punjab High Court were transferred to the Delhi High Court, which includes a famous Judge-Hans Raj Khanna.

Following area of State of Punjab namely Shimla, Kangra, Kullu and Lahaul and Spiti Districts; Nalagarh tehsil of Ambala District; Lohara, Amb and Una kanungo circles, some area of Santokhgarh kanungo circle and some other specified area of Una tehsil of Hoshiarpur District besides some parts of Dhar Kalan Kanungo circle of Pathankot tehsil of Gurdaspur District; were merged with Himachal Pradesh on 1 November 1966 as per Section 5 of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 and thus the jurisdiction of the High Court was reduced.

Chandigarh court building architecture

Le Corbusier, a well-known, French architect, was chosen to execute the project of building the high court. India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, enthusiastically supported the project and took a sustained interest in its execution. When he visited the project on 2 April 1952, he declared "Let this be a new town symbolic of the freedom of India, unfettered by the traditions of the past, an expression of the nation's faith in the future."[13]

List of chief justices

  • Legends:
    • ACJ – Acting Chief Justice
    • Res – Resigned

List of Chief Justices.[14]

Chief JusticeTook officeLeft office
Chief Court of the Punjab (1880–1919)
Sir Henry Meredyth Plowden
Sir Charles Arthur Roe
Sir William Ovens Clark
Sir Arthur Hay Stewart Reid
Sir Alfred Kensington
Sir Donald Campbell Johnstone
Sir Henry Adolphus Rattigan
Lahore High Court (1920–1947)
Sir Shadi Lal
Sir John Douglas Young
Sir Arthur Trevor Harries
Sir Abdul Rashid
Chief Justices of Punjab High Court (1947–1966)
S. No.NameTenureOath Administered by
1Justice Ram Lall15 August 194718 January 1949Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi
2Justice Sudhi Ranjan Das19 January 194921 January 1950
3Justice Eric Weston21 January 19508 December 1952
4Justice Amar Nath Bandhari9 December 195218 November 1959
5Justice Gopal Das Ghosla19 November 195914 December 1961Narhar Vishnu Gadgil
6Justice Donald Falshaw15 December 196129 May 1966
7 Justice Mehar Singh29 May 1966continuedUjjal Singh
Chief Justices of Punjab and Haryana High Court (1966-till now)
7 Justice Mehar Singhcontinued14 August 1970–
8Justice Harbans Singh15 August 19708 April 1974D. C. Pavate
9Justice Daya Krishan Mahajan10 April 197411 May 1974Mahendra Mohan Choudhry
10Justice Ranjit Singh Narula11 May 197431 November 1977
ACJJustice O. Chinnappa Reddy
28 June 197623 October 1976
11Justice Anand Dev Koshal1 November 197717 July 1978Ranjit Singh Narula
12Justice Surjit Singh Sandhawalia17 July 197828 November 1983Jaisukh lal Hathi
ACJJustice Prem Chand Jain28 November 198331 July 1985Bhairab Dutt Pande
131 August 198518 August 1986Arjun Singh
14Justice Hariday Nath Seth18 August 198614 October 1987Siddhartha Shankar Ray
15Justice Debi Singh Tewatia15 October 198729 October 1987
ACJJustice R. N. Mittal30 October 198711 November 1987
16Justice Veeraswami Ramaswamy12 November 19876 October 1989
ACJJustice Shanti Sarup Dewan6 October 198923 October 1989
1724 October 198931 December 1989
ACJJustice Jitendra Vir Gupta1 January 19908 July 1990Nirmal Mukarji
189 July 19901 May 1991
Virendra Verma
ACJJustice Gokal Chand Mital19 May 19914 August 1991Om Prakash Malhotra
ACJJustice Iqbal Singh Tiwana5 August 199119 September 1991
19Justice Bipin Chandra Verma19 September 19912 May 1992Surendra Nath
20Justice Mandagadde Rama Jois3 May 199231 August 1992
ACJJustice S. S. Sodhi1 September 199212 November 1992
21Justice Sudarshan Dayal Agarwal13 November 199214 January 1994
22Justice Sudhakar Panditrao Kurdukar16 January 199427 March 1996
ACJJustice M. S. Liberhan
10 July 199416 August 1994
ACJJustice R. P. Sethi16 August 1994
18 September 1994Sudhakar Panditrao Kurdukar
27 March 199627 June 1996B. K. N. Chhibber
ACJJustice M. S. Liberhan27 June 199630 July 1996
23Justice K. Sreedharan30 July 199618 October 1997
ACJJustice Amarjeet Chaudhary18 October 19977 November 1997
24Justice A. B. Saharya7 November 199714 September 2002
ACJJustice G. S. Singhvi28 January 200217 April 2002J. F. R. Jacob
5 August 200211 August 2002
2 September 20028 September 2002
14 September 200214 October 2002
25Justice Binod Kumar Roy14 October 200221 February 2005
ACJJustice G. S. Singhvi21 February 200525 February 2005Sunith Francis Rodrigues
ACJJustice H. S. Bedi26 February 200511 March 2005
26Justice D. K. Jain11 March 20059 April 2006
ACJJustice H. S. Bedi10 April 20062 October 2006
ACJJustice S. S. Nijjar3 October 200628 November 2006
27Justice Vijender Jain28 November 20061 August 2008
ACJJustice Jagdish Singh Khehar2 August 200811 August 2008
28Justice Tirath Singh Thakur11 August 200816 November 2009
ACJJustice Jagdish Singh Khehar17 November 200929 November 2009
ACJJustice Mehtab Singh Gill29 November 20095 December 2009
29Justice Mukul Mudgal5 December 20093 January 2011
ACJJustice Ranjan Gogoi4 January 201111 February 2011Shivraj Patil
3012 February 201122 April 2012
ACJJustice Adrash Kumar Goel
2 February 201111 September 2011
ACJJustice M. M. Kumar12 September 2011
9 November 2011
23 April 20128 June 2012
ACJJustice Jasbir Singh8 June 201223 September 2012
31Justice A. K. Sikri23 September 201211 April 2013
ACJJustice Jasbir Singh12 April 201331 May 2013
32Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul1 June 201325 July 2014
ACJJustice Ashutosh Mohunta26 July 201415 December 2014
ACJJustice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar15 December 20146 August 2016
337 August 20163 May 2018Kaptan Singh Solanki
ACJJustice Ajay Kumar Mittal4 May 20182 June 2018V. P. Singh Badnore
34Justice Krishna Murari2 June 201822 September 2019
ACJJustice Rajiv Sharma23 September 20195 October 2019
35Justice Ravi Shankar Jha6 October 201913 October 2023
ACJJustice Ritu Bahri14 October 20233 February 2024Banwarilal Purohit
ACJJustice G.S. Sandhawalia4 February 20248 July 2024
36Justice Sheel Nagu9 July 2024Incumbent

List of judges presently working at High Court

DesignationName!D. O. R.
JusticeGurmeet Singh Sandhawalia31 October 2027
JusticeArun Palli17 September 2026
JusticeLisa Gill16 November 2028
Justice Sureshwar Thakur17 May 2025
JusticeDeepak Sibal2 September 2029
JusticeAnupinder Singh Grewal9 March 2026
JusticeSanjeev Prakash Sharma26 September 2026
JusticeGurvinder Singh Gill11 May 2026
JusticeRajbir Sehrawat30 October 2024
JusticeAnil Kshetarpal18 November 2026
JusticeMahabir Singh Sindhu3 April 2029
JusticeManjari Nehru Kaul4 October 2025
JusticeHarsimran Singh Sethi21 October 2029
Justice Anoop Chitkara28 April 2028
JusticeSuvir Sehgal6 June 2027
JusticeAlka Sarin20 June 2028
JusticeJasgurpreet Singh Puri29 August 2027
JusticeMeenakshi I. Mehta8 March 2026
JusticeKaramjit Singh16 April 2025
JusticeArchana Puri12 December 2026
Justice Rajesh Bhardwaj 9 January 2028
Justice Vikas Bahl 24 September 2035
JusticeVikas Suri4 September 2030
JusticeSandeep Moudgil16 March 2033
Justice Vinod Sharma (Bhardwaj)22 May 2036
Justice Pankaj Jain17 June 2036
Justice Jasjit Singh Bedi5 July 2036
Justice Nidhi Gupta27 July 2028
Justice Sanjay Vashisth27 September 2030
Justice Tribhuvan Dahiya22 January 2030
Justice Namit Kumar3 April 2029
Justice Harkesh Manuja19 April 2034
Justice Aman Chaudhary17 December 2034
Justice N.S Shekhawat20 June 2036
Justice Harsh Bunger14 December 2033
Justice Jagmohan Bansal6 November 2036
Justice Deepak Manchanda12 January 2037
Justice Alok Jain25 January 2037
Justice Kuldeep Tiwari(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Gurbir Singh(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Deepak Gupta(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Amarjot Bhatti(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Ritu Tagore(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Manisha Batra(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Harpreet Kaur Jeewan(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Sukhvinder Kaur(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Sanjiv Berry(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Vikram Aggarwal(Addl.-1 November 2024)
Justice Harpreet Singh Brar(Addl.-9 April 2025)

List of former chief justices

Notes

  • ACJ – Acting Chief Justice
  • Res – Resigned
S. No.Name[15] Tenure
1Justice Ram Lall15 August 194718 January 1949
2Justice Sudhi Ranjan Das19 January 194921 January 1950
3Justice Eric Weston21 January 19508 December 1952
4Justice Amar Nath Bandhari9 December 195218 November 1959
5Justice Gopal Das Ghosla19 November 195914 December 1961
6Justice Donald Falshaw15 December 196129 May 1966
7Justice Mehar Singh29 May 196614 August 1970
8Justice Harbans Singh15 August 19708 April 1974
9Justice Daya Krishan Mahajan10 April 197411 May 1974
10Justice Ranjit Singh Narula11 May 197431 November 1977
ACJJustice O. Chinnappa Reddy
28 June 197623 October 1976
11Justice Anand Dev Koshal1 November 197717 July 1978
12Justice Surjit Singh Sandhawalia17 July 197828 November 1983
ACJJustice Prem Chand Jain28 November 198331 July 1985
131 August 198518 August 1986
14Justice Hariday Nath Seth18 August 198614 October 1987
15Justice Debi Singh Tewatia15 October 198729 October 1987
ACJJustice R. N. Mittal30 October 198711 November 1987
16Justice Veeraswami Ramaswamy12 November 19876 October 1989
ACJJustice Shanti Sarup Dewan6 October 198923 October 1989
1724 October 198931 December 1989
ACJJustice Jitendra Vir Gupta1 January 19908 July 1990
189 July 19901 May 1991
ACJJustice Gokal Chand Mital19 May 19914 August 1991
ACJJustice Iqbal Singh Tiwana5 August 199119 September 1991
19Justice Bipin Chandra Verma19 September 19912 May 1992
20Justice Mandagadde Rama Jois3 May 199231 August 1992
ACJJustice S. S. Sodhi1 September 199212 November 1992
21Justice Sudarshan Dayal Agarwal13 November 199214 January 1994
22Justice Sudhakar Panditrao Kurdukar16 January 199427 March 1996
ACJJustice M. S. Liberhan
10 July 199416 August 1994
ACJJustice R. P. Sethi16 August 1994
18 September 1994
27 March 199627 June 1996
ACJJustice M. S. Liberhan27 June 199630 July 1996
23Justice K. Sreedharan30 July 199618 October 1997
ACJJustice Amarjeet Chaudhary18 October 19977 November 1997
24Justice A. B. Saharya7 November 199714 September 2002
ACJJustice G. S. Singhvi28 January 200217 April 2002
5 August 200211 August 2002
2 September 20028 September 2002
14 September 200214 October 2002
25Justice Binod Kumar Roy14 October 200221 February 2005
ACJJustice G. S. Singhvi21 February 200525 February 2005
ACJJustice H. S. Bedi26 February 200511 March 2005
26Justice D. K. Jain11 March 20059 April 2006
ACJJustice H. S. Bedi10 April 20062 October 2006
ACJJustice S. S. Nijjar3 October 200628 November 2006
27Justice Vijender Jain28 November 20061 August 2008
ACJJustice Jagdish Singh Khehar2 August 200811 August 2008
28Justice Tirath Singh Thakur11 August 200816 November 2009
ACJJustice Jagdish Singh Khehar17 November 200929 November 2009
ACJJustice Mehtab Singh Gill29 November 20095 December 2009
29Justice Mukul Mudgal5 December 20093 January 2011
ACJJustice Ranjan Gogoi4 January 201111 February 2011
3012 February 201122 April 2012
ACJJustice Adarsh Kumar Goel
2 February 201111 September 2011
ACJJustice M. M. Kumar12 September 2011
9 November 2011
23 April 20128 June 2012
ACJJustice Jasbir Singh8 June 201223 September 2012
31Justice Arjan Kumar Sikri23 September 201211 April 2013
ACJJustice Jasbir Singh12 April 201331 May 2013
32Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul1 June 201325 July 2014
ACJJustice Ashutosh Mohanta26 July 201415 December 2014
ACJJustice Shiavax Jal Vazifdar15 December 20146 August 2016
337 August 20163 May 2018
ACJJustice Ajay Kumar Mittal4 May 20182 June 2018
34Justice Krishna Murari2 June 201822 September 2019
ACJJustice Rajeev Sharma23 September 20195 October 2019
35Justice Ravi Shankar Jha6 October 201913 October 2023
ACJJustice Ritu Bahri14 October 20233 February 2024
ACJJustice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia4 February 20248 July 2024

Digitization

Punjab and Haryana high court is high court where entire record of the decision and pending cases have been digitized.[16] Digitized record paved way for many unique applications such as

  1. Issuance of certified copies directly from digitized records depository as it is digitally signed.
  2. Availability of records of decided and pending cases for court reference in soft form.
  3. Facility of inspection of case files in soft copy from DMS(e- inspection).
  4. To provide paper books to the all e-diary account holders.
  5. Use of digitized records for the issuance of e- notices by the court.
  6. Any hard copy of a paper book, if lost, can be reconstructed without any loss of time, if required.

The figures of the work done are as under:[17]

Digitization Statistics:Figures
Judicial files pages scanned 14.71 crores
paper books scanned26.25 lakhs
orders scanned59.64 lakhs
Old copy petitions pages scanned10.38 lakhs
Pages of administration files scanned 1.21 crores

Virtual private network

VPN connection has been provided to honourable judges of high court for accessing DMS for scanned paper books from their camp office or from any other place.[18]

e- diary

e-diary is a feature whereby account holders can manage their own case portfolio and view the cases filed or represented by them. Online status of the case along with interim and final orders/ judgments were made available through e-diary.[19] All identified cases of different departments such as Income tax department, Insurance company, Union of India, Advocates General of Punjab and Haryana are automatically pushed in their online e-diary accounts. In addition to the e-diary system, the state governments are in develop court cases monitoring system(CCMS) through which they will monitor pending cases in the Supreme court of India.[20]

e- filing

Online web based e- filing module is functional for filing cases 24 X 7.e- filed cases expedite issuance of copies of orders, summons and is a step towards paperless court regime. It is made compulsory to file cases on online.[21]

Personal information system

In the house, the software has been developed, which contains personal profile and service record of the judicial officer. Access to relevant information has been given at different levels such as Administrative judge, registrar general, registrar vigilance, district judge and the officer concerned.

Updating information of case after final decision

Decided cases are available on the website of the high court. On many occasions, the final order is reviewed/ modified or challenged by filing into court appeal. Status subsequent to final disposal of the matter is shown and when print out of final order is taken from the website. The printout carries a message showing the up-to-date status of the case.

Precedence setting cases

In a case of cow-smuggling, the Punjab and Haryana High Court while treating animals as the "legal person" mandated that "entire animal kingdom including avian and aquatic" species has a "distinct legal persona with corresponding rights, duties, and liabilities of a living person" and humans are "loco parentis" while laying out the norms for animal welfare, veterinary treatment, fodder and shelter, e.g. animal drawn carriages must not have more than four humans, and load carrying animals must not be loaded beyond the specified limits and those limits must be halved when animals have to carry the load up a slope.[22]

See also

References

30.7573°N 76.8066°W

Notes and References

  1. https://www.highcourtchd.gov.in/index.php?mod=chief
  2. Web site: The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 19 July 2016. en.
  3. Web site: Chandigarh's Capitol Complex is now a UNESCO heritage site. 18 July 2016 . 18 July 2016.
  4. Web site: HC starts e-filing, gets Wi-Fi complex. Tribune News Service.
  5. http://highcourtchd.gov.in/sub_pages/left_menu/publish/announce/announce_pdf/protection_15032013.pdf
  6. Web site: Hon'ble Chief Justice and Judges of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana.
  7. The China (Kashgar) Order in Council, 1920,
  8. Web site: Treaty for the Relinquishment of Extra-Territorial Rights in China and the Regulation of Related Matters (Cmd. 6456). 11 January 1943. Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 13 May 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20150402143022/http://treaties.fco.gov.uk/docs/pdf/1943/TS0002.pdf. 2 April 2015. dead., implemented by The China Order in Council, 1943,
  9. Book: Heritage holidays . 15 December 2012 . 2004 . Outlook . 62 . 9788190172455 .
  10. https://highcourtchd.gov.in/?trs=history Highcourt history
  11. Chandigarh High Court.
  12. The Delhi High Court Act, 1966. Act. 26 . 1966 .
  13. Web site: Historical Background of Chandigarh .
  14. https://highcourtchd.gov.in/?trs=former_cj Hinadigarh High Court
  15. Web site: former chief justices of Punjab and Haryana High Court.
  16. News: Punjab & Haryana HC Launches Project For Digitization Of Judicial Records In Subordinate Courts . 21 December 2018 . Apoorva Mandhini . 27 October 2018.
  17. Justice Rajesh Bindal Chairman, Computer Committee Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh . Justice Rajesh Bindal Chairman, Computer Committee Punjab and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh . 17 . 21 December 2018.
  18. News: Punjab and Haryana High Court gets Virtual Private Network for hassle-free judgments . 21 December 2018 . Apoorva Mandhani . 16 July 2014.
  19. News: All decided cases in Punjab and Haryana HC digitized; e-Filing and e-Diary software prepared . 21 December 2018 . Apoorva Mandani . 5 April 2016.
  20. News: Govt issues guidelines on court cases . 21 December 2018 . 16 July 2018.
  21. News: With e-filing beginning today,Punjab and Haryana HC all set to go paperless . 21 December 2018 . Raghav Ohri . 16 April 2014.
  22. https://qz.com/india/1636326/who-apart-from-human-beings-are-legal-persons-in-india/ Birds to holy rivers: A list of everything India considers “legal persons”

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