NRI to be High Sheriff of UK town

Resham Singh Sandhu, who was selected at a ceremony in the High Court, will become the local holder of the oldest continuous secular office under the Crown in Britain. The High Sheriff is a volunteer, unpaid and in office for one year, and is the Queen's representative for law and order in the county, reports from Leicester said.

The Office of High Sheriff is the oldest secular office in the UK after the Crown. Leicestershire has had High Sheriffs since 1172. Historically, responsibilities included tax collection, conscription and maintaining law and order, but today the role is chiefly attending royal visits and acting as returning officer in parliamentary elections.

Before the High Sheriffs take up office next March, a second ceremony will take place at the Privy Council in London. At the ceremony, Queen Elizabeth, using a silver bodkin in a practice dating back to the reign of Queen Victoria, will prick their names on a parchment list to give their appointments the royal seal of approval.